The website Niche has for years compiled data and information on the best places to live in the nation.
Among the criteria New Jersey towns and cities are judged on is crime and safety. Out of all of the ranked towns, radio station 97.3 FM narrowed the list to locations in South Jersey, where Haddonfield came out on top.
“Rated the best place to live in Camden County, Haddonfield received a B plus grade for crime and safety, an A plus for public schools and a Good for Families rating of A plus,” noted an article on the ratings.
The borough came in 13th in the total state list of safest places.
“I would say … it’s incredibly meaningful,” said Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich of Haddonfield’s place on the list, “and it is 100% a credit to our law-enforcement officers, led by Chief (Jason) Cutler, that we are ranked number one for safety in South Jersey …
“It really means that our officers and the community are partnered, and we are being as collaborative and proactive as we can be as well as being responsive.”
Bianco Bezich came into office in 2019 and has been in charge of public safety for five years, with much of her term’s start focused on COVID and its side effects. Among them were rising rates of domestic violence due to stay-at-home orders and increased stress and mental health concerns that warranted new approaches to public safety.
The mayor and police chief set up a prescription drug dropoff to help prevent an increase in addiction and offered resources on domestic violence. According to the borough’s Spring 2025 Public Safety Newsletter, since the COVID-era peak of 45 calls about domestic violence in 2021, reported cases fell to 16 last year. Other crime numbers – namely property crime – are also down.
Burglaries decreased to 24 last year, after a 2016 peak of 75. Motor-vehicle thefts were down to eight for 2024, a decrease from 14 the year prior.
“Whether it was shifting patrols or staffing, whether it was deploying new or different technology, whether it was asking for assistance from neighboring agencies, that really just goes to the strength of what even a small police force like ours can do,” Bianco Bezich noted.
The mayor also cited recent concerns about kids on bikes who cause damage to property and otherwise disturb the peace, and what measures have been taken, including work on legislation to address the issue. The Better Biking Ordinance already allows the police to impound bikes owned by minors and hold their parents or guardians accountable with fines.
“They’re juveniles,” Bianco Bezich emphasized, “and there’s a different way of handling them than adults. But that said, they have to learn that we don’t have a tolerance for reckless behavior that could negatively impact or injure someone.”
The mayor also pointed out that keeping Haddonfield safe is important to expansion of its downtown and business scene. While the borough has increased the number of events for families and residents downtown, officials and police have also advised businesses on how to handle the influx of people during the holiday shopping season and other major activities.
“I’m so proud of our law enforcement and our partners who have helped us in that,” said Bianco Bezich. “And I’m so proud to have a chief who can sit down with a legislator and myself and say, ‘Here’s what I think we need’ and advocate for his men and women in uniform.”
