Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 4.0The nearest town with a Safety Grade to Parkland is Lakewood, 5 miles away
Parkland has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Pierce County. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Parkland alone, and no Safety Grade. The surrounding 10 miles hold 9 graded places to compare with.
What stands out about safety in Parkland
Policed by the county
Parkland is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Parkland. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Washington towns with their own police figures are Lakewood (D, 5 mi), Fircrest (C, 7 mi), University Place (C, 7 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Parkland. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Pierce County without police of their own, which include Parkland.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest Washington towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakewood | D | 5 mi | 6.4 | 37.4 |
| Fircrest | C | 7 mi | 2.8 | 15.4 |
| University Place | C | 7 mi | 2.4 | 20.3 |
| Puyallup | D | 7 mi | 3.5 | 39.5 |
| Fife | D− | 7 mi | 11.7 | 64.6 |
| Steilacoom | B | 8 mi | 1.5 | 8.8 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Parkland. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Parkland.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
20 people died in crashes on Parkland’s roads in 2019–2023
Parkland had 20 fatal crashes in five years, in which 20 people died; 3 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist.
That is 10.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Washington towns of 25,000–100,000 people (5.0, 43 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.
Parkland and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| McChord AFB | — | — | — |
| Clover Creek | — | — | — |
| Tacoma | D− | 10.5 | 56.1 |
| Lakewood | D | 6.4 | 37.4 |
| Spanaway | — | — | — |
| Midland | — | — | — |
| Frederickson | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. McChord AFB, Clover Creek, Spanaway, Midland and Frederickson are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
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.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- 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 Parkland
Is Parkland, WA safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Parkland. The nearest Washington towns with a grade are Lakewood (D, 5 mi), Fircrest (C, 7 mi), University Place (C, 7 mi).
Who polices Parkland?
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. Parkland is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Pierce County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Parkland.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 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.