Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Motley

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Water tower, Motley, MinnesotaPhoto: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
Safety in Motley · Not graded

Crime recorded in Motley, and why it isn’t graded

Motley’s police department covers under 1,000 people in the FBI’s count, so the page shows its counts, not rates, and there is no Safety Grade. Out to 25 miles, the count of graded towns reaches 6. The closest graded town is Staples, 9 miles away, at C+.

Violent crimes
0
reported to the FBI, 2025
Property crimes
10
reported to the FBI, 2025
Nearest graded town
9 mi
Staples (C+)
Reported crime, 2025

10 crimes reported in 2025

0
violent crimes reported
10
property crimes reported

In a town this small, a few incidents move the numbers a lot, so we show counts rather than rates.

What gets reported

Every offense type reported in 2025

2025 offenses reported

Larceny / theft9
Burglary1
Vehicle theft0
Aggravated assault0
Robbery0
Rape0
Homicide0
Arson0
0
violent crimes
10
property crimes

Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.

0 violent and 10 property, as reported to the FBI by Motley’s police.

Nearest with figures

The nearest Minnesota towns with a Safety Grade

TownGradeDistanceViolentProperty
StaplesC+9 mi1.218.0
BaxterC18 mi1.524.5
NisswaA20 mi0.35.2
BrainerdC−21 mi4.218.6
Pequot LakesA+24 mi0.00.3
WadenaC+24 mi2.613.7

Straight-line distance from the center of Motley. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Motley.

Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.

On the roads

No one died in a crash on Motley’s roads in 2019–2023

That is about what is typical for Minnesota towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (4.7 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Motley’s size would see about 0 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Motley’s own rate (0.0) is context, not a ranking.

0
people died in crashes, 2019–2023
0
pedestrians among them
0
cyclists among them
0.0
per 100,000 a year · Minnesota towns of 2,500–5,000: 4.7

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.

Next door

Motley and its neighbors

A rangeB rangeC rangeD rangeNot graded
TownGradeViolentProperty

Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.

How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.

How to read these numbers

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 Motley. 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 Motley’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
  • Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (688 in 2025); our figure for Motley is 688 (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 Motley

Is Motley, MN safe?

There is no Safety Grade for Motley. The nearest Minnesota towns with a grade are Staples (C+, 9 mi), Baxter (C, 18 mi), Nisswa (A, 20 mi).

Who polices Motley?

Motley’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Motley”. Its figures are the ones on this page.

Heads-up board

Town Square →
Weigh in
Does Motley feel safe walking around at night?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Post a heads-up

Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.

Neighbors looking out for each other in Motley.

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.