PHOENIX --
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon released a statement Tuesday, declaring that he was "deeply disappointed" to discover that the city's 2008 kidnapping statistics had been mishandled.
- PDF: Mayor Gordon's Memo
CBS 5 was the first news organization to question the accuracy of the kidnapping statistics back in August 2010, after obtaining a memo from Sgt. Phil Roberts claiming that the kidnapping numbers were inflated.
The Phoenix Police Department always denied Roberts' claims and defended the numbers.
Now, with the federal government conducting an audit on the kidnapping numbers, the department has admitted that the numbers were flawed.
An e-mail sent out Monday read, in part:"The department has determined that there are reports that do not belong in these statistics."
The email also said that they are now finding reports that were not classified as kidnappings that should have been.
Gordon called for a full and transparent recounting of the numbers, as well as an evaluation of the process used to compile them.
"Mistakes like this ... must be corrected, just as our processes must be fixed to ensure this does not happen again," Gordon said.
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