SEQUIM – Police Chief Robert Spinks says he lives and works in the safest place on the Peninsula.

He also said the quality of life took a leap forward last year.

That’s quite a couple of claims.

But Sequim’s police chief, often a colorful orator, unabashedly made his case Monday night before the Sequim City Council.

Using the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, Spinks said that Sequim saw 58.1 crimes per 1,000 residents last year, compared with 60.1 crimes per 1,000 in Port Angeles, 60.3 in Port Townsend and 67.3 in Forks.

Those cities are all, however, above the statewide rate of 48.1 crimes per 1,000 residents, according to the Sequim Police Department annual report, compiled by Sgt. Sheri Crain.

Spinks was careful to also point out that in Sequim, felonies fell 4 percent between 2005 and 2006, while the rate of arrests increased 64 percent over 2005, to 1,287 arrests last year.

Some serious crimes declined in Sequim; thefts, for example, dropped from 358 in 2005 to 254 last year.

Two rapes were reported in Sequim in 2005, but none were reported in 2006.

“Behavioral crimes can be an indicator of a community’s overall livability,” the Sequim Police’s annual report said.

And some of those crimes – including thefts, disturbances and car prowls – decreased sharply between 2005 and 2006.

But malicious mischief – tire-slashings, mailbox vandalism – increased last year, to 253 calls.