Kidnapping
United States

In 2009, Phoenix, Arizona reported over 300 cases of kidnapping, gaining it a reputation as America's kidnapping capital, as according to the Los Angeles Times. Hundreds of kidnappings for ransom occurred in the city, as per the Times, most of them having connections to Mexican drug and human trafficking as a way to pay off unpaid debts. These statistics would have made the city have the highest kidnapping rate of any U.S. city, and second in the world only to Mexico City. However, an investigation and later audit by the U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General found these statistics to be falsified. Only 59 federally reportable kidnappings occurred in 2008. This is in comparison to the over 300 claimed kidnappings on grant applications. The falsified data can be attributed to a variety of issues within the southwestern United States as a whole, including misclassification by local police, lack of unified standards, a desire for Federal grants, or the Mexican Drug War.
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