Photo: Jordano53 · CC BY-SA 4.0For property crime, Independence Township beats 86% of U.S. towns per resident
Its Safety Grade is A−, on crimes Independence Township’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #38 of 266 graded towns in Michigan. What’s more, the local count comes to 0.9 violent crime and 3.8 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 5.4 and 17.5 in the rest of Michigan. The graded rate fell 46% from 2023 to 2025. Among its 5 neighbors with figures, 3 record less crime per resident.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MI” is every other Michigan city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Independence Township
3 of the 5 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 Michigan towns on Independence Township’s borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Brandon Township (A), Springfield Township (A), Orion Township (A), Waterford Township (B−), Auburn Hills (C−). Neighbors ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Independence Township’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are lower than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the stronger of the two.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Independence Township property | Rest of Michigan property | Independence Township violent | Rest of Michigan violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.1 | 18.8 | 1.0 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 5.6 | 19.5 | 0.9 | 5.8 |
| 2024 | 3.2 | 17.5 | 1.0 | 5.4 |
| 2025 | 2.7 | 15.7 | 0.8 | 5.1 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Michigan.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Independence Township | Rest of Michigan | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1.0 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 0.9 | 5.8 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.0 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.8 | 5.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Independence Township’s police reported 101 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.9 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.4 in the rest of Michigan and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Independence Township per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
132 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
29 violent and 103 property, as reported to the FBI by Independence Township’s police.
Eight people died in crashes on Independence Township’s roads in 2019–2023
Independence Township had 7 fatal crashes in five years, in which eight people died. 2 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is about what is typical for Michigan towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (5.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Independence Township’s size would see about 10 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Independence Township’s own rate (4.3) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Independence Township and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Township | A− | 0.9 | 3.8 |
| Waterford Township | B− | 2.6 | 7.5 |
| Orion Township | A | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| Springfield Township | A | 0.6 | 3.4 |
| Brandon Township | A | 0.6 | 2.0 |
| Auburn Hills | C− | 3.2 | 20.2 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Michigan towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Township | A− | 0.9 | 3.8 |
| Midland | B+ | 1.1 | 5.8 |
| Holland | C+ | 3.3 | 12.4 |
| Pittsfield Township | C | 2.7 | 19.3 |
| Lincoln Park | D | 6.3 | 17.8 |
| Eastpointe | D | 7.0 | 23.4 |
The five graded Michigan towns closest to Independence Township’s population (37,725), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Independence Township. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Independence Township’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (37,873 in 2025); our figure for Independence Township is 37,725 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Independence Township
Is Independence Township, MI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Independence Township reports less crime per resident than 83% of U.S. towns, an A− Safety Grade and #38 of 266 in Michigan. Its police reported 0.9 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.4 in the rest of Michigan and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Independence Township?
0.9 violent and 3.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Michigan reports 5.4 and 17.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Independence Township in 2025?
Independence Township’s police reported 0 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 0.0 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Independence Township safer than Waterford Township?
Waterford Township reports more crime per resident than Independence Township: Waterford Township grades B− for safety and Independence Township A−. Waterford Township’s police reported 2.6 violent and 7.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Independence Township?
Independence Township’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Independence Township”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Independence Township.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.