I've stayed in traveler lodging well over 100 nights (U.S. and Canada) in the last two decades, mostly in motels that I drove to. Motels alleviate a lot of these hotel safety/security problems because they are not usually right in a city center, there is minimal staff, all the rooms usually have direct access from the parking lot (no lobbies, elevators, or hallways required, depending on size of the motel) with high visibility, and you can use your vehicle for backup storage (credit card, cash, external disk drive, extra car key). Many times I have made sure that if either my room/person is robbed, or my car is stolen (but not both) I could still recover and continue my trip.
Of course, many business travelers don't have the luxury of driving where they need to go, but for tourists, it's worth considering. You usually don't even need to make a reservation, you just find a spot around the time you are ready to stop driving for the day.
Almost every motel I've stayed at had a live-in manager, their quarters were located behind the front office/checkin desk.
Maybe a couple of times, I've had the misfortune to spend the night in a room adjacent/above to one where, as mentioned elsewhere, there are noisy people in the middle of the night (arguing couples, smokers going in and out), but never experienced for example police presence.
Of course, many business travelers don't have the luxury of driving where they need to go, but for tourists, it's worth considering. You usually don't even need to make a reservation, you just find a spot around the time you are ready to stop driving for the day.