The accolades for Greenville, S.C., continue to roll in at an amazing pace.

Yes, the Upstate’s largest city recently was ranked among Forbes’ top 25 places for retirees in 2025... and was rated by HGTV among America’s 40 most-charming small-town downtowns for this year.

However, in our estimation, Greenville’s top recent accolade revolves around city Police Chief J.H. Thompson’s announcement that Greenville City Council, led by (for 30years) Mayor Knox O. White, has continued to invest a significant portion of the city budget on public safety and supporting the men and women behind the badge and, as a result, has recorded its lowest crime rate in a decade. 

Indeed, as Spartanburg, S.C., television station WSPA reported on May 22, public safety and the city police are where “... a signicant portion of the City of Greenville’s budget is headed for fiscal year 2026,” following council’s approval of its new $291.2 million spending plan on May 19.   

The new budget, which will take effect July 1, also includes funding for housing, public safety, quality of life and more.

To that end, city Police Chief Thompson was quoted by WSPA as saying, “We’re a 365, 24/7 organization... 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, there are officers here working. They’re dedicated, they’re professional. They do a great job keeping the city safe.”

WSPA added, “With its lowest crime rate in a decade, Greenville Police Chief Thompson credited the hard work and dedication of the agency’s men and women. He added that some will soon receive additional financial support. A major focus is strengthening the police department through safety resources and by investing in its officers.”

We fully echo the sentiment of Chief Thompson (as quoted by WSPA), when he told council on May 19, “We are very lucky to have a great city manager, mayor and council. They’re very supportive of public safety here in the city of Greenville.

“It’s an excellent thing; great news for the police department this year. We get to add four new officer positions. We got a $1-an-hour raise for our brand-new officers coming in up through the rank of major, which goes a long way for retaining our good and well-trained officers and to recruit officers....”