PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A recent study says Portsmouth is ranked at the top of the most-robbed cities in Virginia and also #22 in the country.

According to YourLocalSecurity.com, Portsmouth has a robbery rate of 24.47 per 10,000 people. Portsmouth beat the previous year’s #1 most-robbed city in Virginia, Petersburg.

YourLocalSecurity analyzed the FBI’s annual crime data for robbery rates which is how they determined which city in each state holds the top mark.

Portsmouth also ranked #22 across the country. The most robbed city according to the site is Baltimore, Maryland with a robbery rate of 81.31 per 10,000 people.

Courtesy – YourLocalSecurity

The city with the lowest robbery rate is Twin Falls, Idaho with a rate of 1.98 robberies per 10,000 residents.

According to the site, only cities with a population of at least 30,000 were considered for the study. Officials from the site defined robbery as “the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.”

To stay safe and reduce your chances of being a victim of a robbery, officials suggests you:

  • Always be aware of your surroundings, especially if you’re in an unfamiliar area
  • Carry a form of protection
  • Install a security system at your home
  • Keep an inventory of your home to help with insurance claims
  • Don’t leave things in your car and keep everything locked