Hillsborough crime data shows complexity as state attorney candidates claim declines

The topic of crime is an age-old political football that gets tossed around every election season.

In this year’s race for Hillsborough state attorney, it’s one that Democrat Andrew Warren has repeatedly hit as he campaigns to reclaim the office from which he was suspended in 2022. Specifically, Warren claims crime went down when he was office, and that it has gone up since.

“It is an indisputable fact that crime went down 32% in Hillsborough County over five years, making it the safest large county in Florida,” Warren told attendees at the Tiger Bay Club debate in May.

His Republican opponent, Suzy...