News · Sterling Heights
FBI data ranks Sterling Heights as Michigan's safest big city for the seventh straight year
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — Sterling Heights is Michigan's safest big city for the seventh year in a row, based on the FBI's 2025 crime data.
The city had the lowest rates of both violent and property crime among Michigan communities with more than 100,000 people, C&G Newspapers reported, citing the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program.
Violent crime fell 3.3% in 2025, to 295 incidents: one murder, 47 rapes, 10 robberies and the rest aggravated assaults. Robberies dropped 50%, aggravated assaults 2.5% and burglaries 15%. Neighboring Warren, which has slightly more people, recorded 681 violent crimes.
The city's property crime rate was 15% lower than Dearborn's, 17% lower than Warren's, 21% lower than Lansing's and 26% lower than Ann Arbor's, according to the data.
"We have a very proactive police department," Police Chief Andrew Satterfield told C&G. "These guys, they don't take a break." He credited community policing, directed neighborhood patrols and a focus on substance abuse and mental health, and said he'd like more officers: "It's a big city (with) a lot of land to cover."
"Public safety is fundamental to quality of life," Mayor Michael Taylor said in a statement.
The city is also adding tools. Its new drone program launched in September, and the council took up a renewal of its Flock license plate cameras on Oct. 20.
Sources:
C&G Newspapers, “Sterling Heights remains Michigan's safest big city,” Sept. 18, 2026, https://www.candgnews.com/articles/government-news/sterling-heights-remains-michigans-safest-big-city/
WWJ Newsradio 950, “Sterling Heights is still the safest big city in Michigan, FBI data shows,” 2026, https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/sterling-heights-safest-city-michigan
Photo: ajay_suresh, “Sterling Heights - City Hall (50826112198).jpg,” Dec. 24, 2020, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sterling_Heights_-_City_Hall_(50826112198).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
More from Sterling Heights
Election 2026 · October 20, 2026
Sterling Heights voters decide two charter changes: special elections for long council vacancies and a $50,000 purchasing limit
One proposal would let voters, not the council, fill seats with two or more years left. The other would raise the spending amount that needs council approval from $5,000, set in 1968, to $50,000.
News · October 20, 2026
Clinton River Road's $10 million rebuild: one-way traffic now, a new trail and signals by November 2027
Work on 4.5 miles between Canal and Hayes runs two seasons. Northwest-bound drivers detour in the Canal-to-19 Mile and Saal-to-Hayes sections, which reopen for winter.
News · October 20, 2026
Sterling Heights council takes a public vote on keeping its Flock license plate cameras through 2028
The two-year renewal would cost $84,100 a year plus $3,000 per camera. Police say new rules bar searches tied to immigration enforcement or reproductive health care. At least one council member is a firm no.
News · October 20, 2026
After a crude oil leak at 18 Mile and Mound, federal regulators order Energy Transfer to check hundreds of pipeline repairs it has no records for
A failed 2010 repair sleeve on a 1967 pipeline leaked about 15 barrels into a gas station lot on Sept. 18. A 16-mile segment stays shut until regulators approve a restart.