Audit: DeKalb used inflated crime stats to secure federal grants

By Christian Boone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014

The statistics provided by DeKalb police to federal grant holders painted a portrait of a county besieged by crime, with more than 11,000 aggravated assaults reported in 2008 alone.

But according to a recent audit by the U.S. Inspector General, that was about 10,000 too many.
The government watchdog found the county also over-reported numbers in every additional crime category. Those stats helped secure more than $2.3 million — money which will likely have to be refunded.

“It was an egregious error,” said DeKalb Police Chief Cedric Alexander. “None of us here were in place, including the grant writer.”

The audit reviewed three grants from Community Oriented Policing Services totaling more than $4.5 million received by the county between July 2009 and September 2013. The money was to hire entry-level police officers and support efforts to reduce child endangerment, but the audit could not account for $783,186. Read the full article:

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/audit-dekalb-used-inflated-crime-stats-to-secure-f/nht9T/