April 16 was somewhat of a landmark — my 100th day as Florida’s Attorney General — and there could have been no better way of marking the occasion than by joining with Governor Bush’s Administration to report that our state’s crime rate had fallen to its lowest level in 30 years.

Traditionally the first 100 days has served as a mirror to reflect on the early activities of a new officeholder, along with changes they have set in motion. General Butterworth left some big shoes to fill. I am pleased with the first three months, but certainly not satisfied. Many challenges lie ahead.

As promised during the campaign, on Day One I unveiled a toll-free hotline (1-866-9-NO-SCAM) for Floridians who wish to report fraud. In the ensuing 100 days, just under 7,000 Floridians have called our hotline, looking for help with possible Medicaid fraud, identify theft or any other scam. That’s almost 500 citizens per week who did not know where to turn for help, but now do.

Since establishing the Fraud Hotline, other steps have been taken to protect Floridians from con artists, bigots and others who would deny residents and guests the opportunity to fully enjoy the many wonders of our state:

-- We proposed legislation to crack down on identify theft and securities fraud and to give the Attorney General a powerful new tool to stop civil rights violations.

--- This office has played a role in obtaining significant settlement agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers.

-- I am working with the Federal Trade Commission and the nation’s leading oil companies to help explain the dramatic spikes in the cost of gasoline and to facilitate price decreases as soon as possible.

-- We shut down deceptive moving companies that were charged by federal authorities with failing to deliver goods at the prices they promised.

-- We have advocated legislation that targets drug “adulteration,” an insidious practice where life-giving medications are watered down or counterfeited in order to produce a larger number of doses and therefore higher profits.

-- And my office has cracked down on local pharmacy owners who steal from all Floridians by defrauding the state’s Medicaid fund.

While we are sometimes able to see instant results, some of what we are doing now is aimed at producing positive results two, five, or even ten years down the road. This is the same approach our state’s leaders began to take more than a decade ago when life began to get tougher for criminals.

The result of their foresight is undeniable. On April 16 the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported that Florida’s crime rate last year dropped 3.3 percent, the 11th straight year the state’s crime rate has fallen. This positive trend began as a result of a substantial increase in prison construction begun by Governor Bob Martinez in the late 1980s, and continued with such tough-on-criminals programs as Governor Jeb Bush’s 10/20/Life and the STOP (Stop Turning Out Prisoners) law that I was proud to sponsor. From that time forward, criminals were required to spend at least 85 percent of their sentences behind bars.

As impressive as these numbers are, the real story of a safer Florida belongs to the heroic men and women of the state’s law enforcement community. Without these brave individuals, none of our success against criminals would have been possible.

Florida IS a safer place than it used to be — the statistics prove it. But the policy makers in Tallahassee and elsewhere deserve only some of the credit. The next time you want to thank someone for making your home, your neighborhood, your community safer ... look no further than the nearest police officer, sheriff’s deputy, trooper or other officer sworn to protect our state from criminals.



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