GILBERT, AZ (AZFamily) — Gilbert police are defending their crime reporting practices after a former town council member accused the department of covering up crime data to make the community appear safer.
Former Councilman Bill Spence claims he was told in July that 10 years ago, the police chief had “fudged numbers” by using Priority Zero call classifications that were left out of crime data reported to the FBI.
The allegations first surfaced during a Nov. 18 Town Council meeting. Spence said the revelation came during a private conversation with current councilman and former Gilbert police commander Kenny Buckland…