We've never been a fan of those "ten best" whatever lists that crop up periodically, but we won't argue with a list put out by CQ Press that lists Norwalk as the third safest city in the state.

We concede the top spot to Danbury to the north, and the second spot to Stamford. The listing was for cities of 75,000 population or more. (New Haven was omitted because apparently the FBI data upon which the survey was based, was not available.)

Although we came in third, it does reflect a certain confidence in the population of Norwalk about its relative safety.

Of course, if you read the police blotter and see crime stories reported in this newspaper, you might wonder. But when you consider that Norwalk is ranked 110 among the safest 393 communities in the nation in the same category, it's not bad news.

And what city is the safest among the nation's largest ones? Honolulu, and -- guess what -- coming in second is New York City.

As for the category in which Norwalk is listed, the worst crime rating goes to Camden, N.J., while Ramapo , N.Y., ranks with the lowest crime rating.

Admittedly, there are critics of the rating system used by CQ Press, saying it's misleading because it relies on geographical data and population density instead of exploring the factors that cause crime.

It's hard to sell someone on the safety of the city if their house has been broken into, or their car stolen or they have been the victim of an assault.

Even the FBI, whose statistics are used as the basis for the listing, warns against reading too much into them without considering the economic and social variables that affect a city's crime rate.

We certainly agree with Norwalk Police Chief Harry Rilling that the ranking, as limited in scope as it is, reflects on the hard work of the city's police officers.

Norwalk is a diverse city, surrounded by less-than-diverse suburban communities. We have different problems and we feel the Police Department does an admirable job dealing with them.

The survey should give a boost to the morale of the department, with officers seeing that their efforts have an impact. We hope they continue their dedication -- just don't worry about the surveys.

Thursday, 12/3/09--JPR