Gov. Ron DeSantis is pitching himself to voters as the tough-on-crime presidential candidate, and has claimed along the campaign trail that Florida “leads the nation” in crime reduction. All the while, the state’s law enforcement officials knew his numbers were shaky at best and impossible to verify, three former staffers told NBC News. “We foot-stomped it to leadership over and over again; they did not care,” one said. “They did not care.” The insider claimed that the department’s “soldiers,” on orders from the top brass, produced numbers reflecting DeSantis’ claims despite their own misgivings. “The numbers gave the governor and the [executive office of governor] what they wanted,” another former staffer said. “They were looking for a particular narrative.” DeSantis’ claim that Florida is experiencing a 50-year crime low has been repeatedly proven to be based on incomplete data. Still, a department spokesperson defended it to NBC. “Florida’s crime rate is indeed at a 50-year low, and criticism about FDLE’s robust data collection methods is unfounded,” the spokesperson said. “Despite your assertions, no current or former employee has ever expressed concerns to FDLE leadership regarding the calculations.”