When Mayor Frank Picozzi learned Warwick, Rhode Island, had topped a list of the safest cities in the United States, he wasn’t surprised.
The charming city on the coast took advantage of federal money handed out during the COVID-19 pandemic to bolster its fleet of fire trucks and police vehicles, part of a yearslong effort to help improve public safety, which Picozzi credits with helping the city rise through rankings.
“We had some areas of the city that were kind of rocky neighborhoods, but by constant policing and economic development, that’s not the case anymore,” Picozzi said. “People take pride in the city.”…