HARLINGEN — From 2012 to 2014, the Harlingen Police Department boasted crime dropped about 20 percent each year.
But after he took office in January 2015, Police Chief Jeffry Adickes questioned whether the numbers were too good to be true.
So Adickes called for a review of the city’s crime statistics.
And it appears he was right.
A state audit found the police department was apparently under-reporting some crimes, skewing the numbers.Now, Adickes is installing a new software system to help correct the problem.
“This is an integrity issue to me — that we preserve the integrity of the police department and crime stats and be transparent to the community,” Adickes said.
From 2012 to 2014, the police department filed federal Uniform Crime Reports with the FBI, each year showing about 20 percent overall reductions in crimes compared to the previous year.
The Uniform Crime Report measures major crimes, including homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and vehicle theft.
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