An investigation is reportedly being launched in Connecticut after an audit found a “high likelihood” that hundreds of Connecticut State Police troopers have been falsifying tens of thousands of traffic ticket records over the past decade to hide rampant racism, according to CT Insider.

The report found that there was a “high likelihood” that at least 25,996 tickets were completely made up between 2014 and 2021. A further 32,587 records during that same time period show “significant inaccuracies,” and auditors feel those may be false as well. Keep in mind, the auditors emphasized that their analysis was extremely conservative and “the number of falsified records is likely larger than we confidently identified.” The false reports were submitted by about one quarter of the 1,301 troopers who wrote tickets in the time period.

The outlet also reports that the findings alleged a systematic violation of state laws and that the misreporting skewed racial profiling data to make it appear as though troopers were ticketing more white drivers and fewer non-white drivers than they really were.

“This report suggests a historical pattern and practice among some troopers and constables of submitting infraction records that were likely false or inaccurate,” CT Insider reports the audit read.

Now, Governor Ned Lamont’s administration is said to be conducting an “independent investigation.” However, he also urged the public not to rush to judgment and took issue with the tickets being labeled as “false.” He reportedly emphasized that the issues had been declining over the years.