Distinction based on research by Movoto Real Estate

Just weeks after West Linn was ranked as the 31st safest city in America by Neighborhood Scout, the city took home another honor Tuesday as the safest city in Oregon, according to Movoto Real Estate.

West Linn ranked just ahead of Wilsonville and Sherwood — which tied for second — while Newberg-Dundee and Lake Oswego rounded out the top five.

Movoto’s rankings were created using the FBI’s 2012 Oregon Crime Report. The researchers specifically evaluated violent crimes, property crimes and the chances of residents being victims of crime. Those three categories were weighted, with violent crime accounting for 50 percent of a city’s ranking, while property crime was worth 30 percent and the chances of being the victim of a crime made up the last 20 percent.

In the end, Movoto found that West Linn “has all the benefits of being so close to the state’s largest city, but without any of the drawbacks” in terms of reported crime. FBI statistics showed that West Linn had just five reported violent crimes in 2012, and no cases of murder or manslaughter.

Of West Linn’s 254 reported crimes in 2012, 249 were classified as nonviolent property crimes. The study found that West Linn residents had just a 1-in-101 chance of falling victim to a crime.

Second-place Wilsonville, by way of comparison, had eight violent crimes and 290 total crimes in 2012. Movoto found that Wilsonville residents had a 1-in-68 chance of being the victim of a crime.

The most dangerous city in Oregon, according to Movoto, is Ontario, which had 82 reports of violent crime in 2012. Medford and Portland came in at second and third, respectively.

View the full list at www.movoto.com/or/safest-places-in-oregon/