Sterling Heights Remains Safest Big City in Michigan in 2025
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Sterling Heights Remains Safest Big City in Michigan in 2025

Trending in Sterling Heights   Posted on September 14, 2026

Data has been released from the Department of Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation – 2025 Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, and the city of Sterling Heights is once again noted as the safest big city (over 100,000 population) in Michigan. Sterling Heights was ranked safest among these communities in both total property crimes and violent crimes, as well as safest overall.

From 2024 to 2025, violent crime in Sterling Heights decreased 3.3%. In addition, Sterling Heights recorded the lowest property crime rate among all Michigan communities over 100,000 population, which is 15% lower than Dearborn, 17% lower than Warren, 21% lower than Lansing and 26% lower than Ann Arbor. Sterling Heights also recorded a 50% reduction in robberies, 2.5% reduction in aggravated assault and 15% reduction in burglary. These most recent FBI crime statistics show a continued trend of safety in Sterling Heights.

"Sterling Heights being recognized again as Michigan's safest big city speaks to the Sterling Standard our community expects and delivers," said Mayor Michael C. Taylor. "This achievement reflects the exceptional work of our Police Department, the trust they have earned from residents and the shared commitment across our community to look out for one another. Public safety is fundamental to quality of life, and we will continue investing in the people, partnerships and proactive approach that make Sterling Heights a place where families, businesses and neighbors can thrive."

The City's most recent resident survey from 2025 revealed 96% of respondents said they feel safe in their neighborhood during the day and 88% are satisfied with the overall quality of police protection in Sterling Heights, which is 35% higher than the national average. In addition, 70% are satisfied with the City's efforts to prevent crime, and 84% are satisfied with how quickly police respond to emergencies.

"These results reflect the exceptional professionalism and dedication of the men and women of the Sterling Heights Police Department," said Police Chief Andrew Satterfield. "They also demonstrate the strength of the partnership between our residents, businesses, city leadership and public safety personnel. Maintaining a safe community is a shared commitment, and Sterling Heights continues to set a high standard."

Over the past few years, several factors have helped control crime in Sterling Heights:
  • A group of officers are dedicated to proactively targeting crime through the City and are engaged in additional community policing efforts through a community services bureau and directed neighborhood patrols who partner with bordering communities to support our department's efforts and reinforce the message that we don't tolerate crime in our community. Community service bureau projects have expanded the way residents and businesses are engaging with the department.
  • Sterling Heights Police Department has led the way as a pioneer in innovative substance abuse programs like the Comeback Quick Response Team and the Re-Direct drug diversion programs. Coupled with the Sobriety Court led by 41-A District Court Judge Annemarie Lepore, these model programs have been immensely successful in targeting the root cause of most crime – substance abuse – and getting addicts into treatment rather than repeating the cycle of incarceration, relapse and additional crime. As a result of these programs, overdoses and overdose deaths in Sterling Heights have declined significantly. The Police Department, in partnership with Face Addiction Now (FAN), has been recognized for its critical work in saving lives and strengthening community health.
  • Sterling Heights Police Department remains a fully accredited police agency from the Michigan Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (MLEAC). The MLEAC accreditation is a voluntary statewide law enforcement accreditation program formed through a partnership between The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police and the Michigan Sheriffs' Association. The accreditation is a significant professional achievement acknowledging the agency has met 130 different national standards for operational effectiveness.
  • Sterling Heights Police Department was the first department in Macomb County, Mich. to launch a "transparency dashboard" accessible under the police department section of the City's website. The dashboard allows the public to quickly and conveniently view up-to-date information regarding the department's interaction with the community on items like calls for service, citations issued, arrests made, use of force or complaints. In addition, a digital crime map offers public information about police activity in the city in the past 72 hours.
  • In 2025, the Police Department completed a Community Mental Wellness Strategic Plan which led to the integration of social services into public safety efforts through creation of a crisis intervention team, embedding case workers to address residents with mental health needs and creating a special needs registry to assist officers in responding appropriately to homes with residents who have disabilities.
  • The Sterling Heights Police Department's SAVES and Blue Envelope programs help officers better support residents with disabilities or communication needs by providing voluntary information and practical tools that promote safer, more understanding interactions during routine contacts and emergencies.
  • Since February of this year, officers have been issuing crime prevention notices to help inform citizens on how to keep valuables more secure.
  • The department is about to launch a new Drone as a First Responder program that will improve officer and resident safety by giving responding personnel faster and better assessment of safety concerns while offers are responding to calls for service. The department will continue to research the utilization of cutting-edge technology that allows our officers to operate efficiently and keep our community safe.
  • Before the end of 2026, the department will be launching a comprehensive strategic plan organizational review to support the long-term health, ongoing effectiveness and sustainability of the department.

"I am immensely proud of our police department and our community," Chief Satterfield said. "Together, we remain committed to ensuring Sterling Heights is a safe and welcoming place to live, work and visit today and well into the future."

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The UCR Program generates reliable statistics for us in law enforcement. It also provides information for students of criminal justice, researchers, the media and the public. The program has been providing crime statistics since 1930. The UCR Program includes data from more than 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies. Agencies participate voluntarily and submit their crime data either through a state UCR program or directly to the FBI's UCR Program. Data and Sterling Heights' ranking compared to similar sized cities in Michigan come from the 2025 FBI UCR Program and appear below.

2025 Violent & Property Crimes Combined
CityTotal
Crime
Detroit35,520
Grand Rapids6,434
Lansing3,048
Warren2,541
Ann Arbor2,439
Dearborn2,083
Sterling Heights1,842

2025 Violent Crimes
CityTotal Violent
crime		Murder and
nonnegligent
manslaughter		RapeRobberyAggravated
assault
Detroit10,5901655419358,949
Grand Rapids1,792131681911,420
Lansing1,11648876948
Warren68137951548
Ann Arbor36125239268
Sterling Heights29514710237
Dearborn26322128212

2025 Property Crimes
CityTotal Property
crime		BurglaryLarceny-
theft		Motor
vehicle
theft		Arson
Detroit24,9304,04714,6476,236372
Grand Rapids4,6423763,75351337
Ann Arbor2,0781791,8099012
Lansing1,9683151,11853516
Warren1,8602351,26635918
Dearborn1,820771,4622814
Sterling Heights1,547871,2502107

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