The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is set to launch an investigation into Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings’ reporting on crime rates, wesh.com reported Wednesday.
John Tegg, Deming’s Republican opponent said the sheriff is underreporting crime in order to create the illusion of a lower crime rate in Orange County. Specifically, at a press conference last week, Tegg charged that burglaries are being mis-classified as minor offences, particularly in the tourist corridor.
Tegg handed over crime stats to FDLE on Tuesday night to support his claim, wesh.com also reported.
Meanwhile, Demings has called Tegg’s charge, “the big lie.”
A written statement released from the Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday night said that, FDLE had previously reviewed this issue and confirmed that OCSO crime stats are being “properly reported.” However, the statement added that, the Sheriff and the members of OCSO will welcome a further review to “verify the accuracy of our operations.”
FDLE’s review is not expected to be completed before voters go to the polls on November 6th.
