In a recent political ad Jim Spearing, a consultant for the Florida PBA, was criticized for using crime stats for the entire county instead of just using the crime stats for unincorporated Hillsborough County. Jim got the stats from FDLE and the reason he used stats for the entire county is because every person that gets booked by any agency in Hillsborough County goes to the Hillsborough County Jail where they are processed by our Detention Deputies who have to deal with them day and night. When these people go to court our Bailiffs handle security in the court rooms. No matter what agency makes the arrest our Deputies are involved. Rather than argue this issue Jim changed the ad to only show the stats for unincorporated Hillsborough County.
Last week the Tampa Tribune ran an article on the increase of homicides in unincorporated Hillsborough County for 2007. The article quoted a Sheriff's Office Major who stated that in 2006 the Sheriff's Office investigated 35 homicide cases and 49 in 2007. According to the FDLE website the Sheriff's Office investigated 30 homicide cases in 2006, not 35 as stated in the article. This represents a 38% increase instead of a 28% increase in the homicide rate. This information was sent to the Tampa Tribune. We will see if they do the right thing.
