Photo: PeRshGo · CC BY-SA 4.0On violent crime, Van Buren Township has a higher rate per resident than 76% of U.S. towns
The yearly rates were 3.3 violent crimes and 18.6 incidents of property crime per 1,000 residents, set against 5.4 and 17.5 in the rest of Michigan. Even so, a Safety Grade of C follows from crimes Van Buren Township’s police reported over the years 2023 to 2025: #194 of 266 graded towns in Michigan. Among its 3 neighbors with figures, 2 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 Van Buren Township
2 of the 3 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 4 Michigan towns on Van Buren Township’s borders, 3 have a Safety Grade: Canton Township (B−), Sumpter Township (B−), Romulus (D). Ypsilanti Township has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Van Buren 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 higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical. Its violent rate (3.3) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Crime in Van Buren 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 3 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Van Buren Township | Rest of Michigan | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3.3 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 3.5 | 5.7 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 3.3 | 5.4 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 3.2 | 5.1 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Van Buren Township’s police reported 296 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 3.3 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.4 in the rest of Michigan and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Van Buren Township property | Rest of Michigan property | Van Buren Township violent | Rest of Michigan violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 20.7 | 18.7 | 3.3 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 18.9 | 19.4 | 3.5 | 5.7 |
| 2024 | 20.7 | 17.4 | 3.3 | 5.4 |
| 2025 | 16.2 | 15.6 | 3.2 | 5.1 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Michigan.
574 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.
94 violent and 480 property, as reported to the FBI by Van Buren Township’s police.
20 people died in crashes on Van Buren Township’s roads in 2019–2023
Van Buren Township had 20 fatal crashes in five years, in which 20 people died; 3 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 4 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 13.4 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Michigan towns of 25,000–100,000 people (5.3, 77 towns).
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.
Van Buren Township and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren Township | C | 3.3 | 18.6 |
| Canton Township | B− | 1.9 | 10.5 |
| Ypsilanti Township | — | — | — |
| Sumpter Township | B− | 3.0 | 6.1 |
| Romulus | D | 8.7 | 21.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Ypsilanti Township has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025.
Michigan towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren Township | C | 3.3 | 18.6 |
| Oak Park | C− | 3.4 | 20.4 |
| Southgate | C− | 4.1 | 18.3 |
| Burton | D | 7.6 | 24.5 |
| Jackson | D− | 9.9 | 35.0 |
| Flint Township | D− | 9.3 | 41.0 |
The five graded Michigan towns closest to Van Buren Township’s population (29,770), 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 Van Buren 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 Van Buren Township’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (29,688 in 2025); our figure for Van Buren Township is 29,770 (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 Van Buren Township
Is Van Buren Township, MI safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Van Buren Township reports more crime per resident than 75% of U.S. towns, a C Safety Grade and #194 of 266 in Michigan. Its police reported 3.3 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 Van Buren Township?
3.3 violent and 18.6 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 Van Buren Township in 2025?
Van Buren Township’s police reported 1 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 3.4 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Van Buren Township safer than Canton Township?
Canton Township reports less crime per resident than Van Buren Township: Canton Township grades B− for safety and Van Buren Township C. Canton Township’s police reported 1.9 violent and 10.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Van Buren Township?
Van Buren Township’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Van Buren Township”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Van Buren 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.