Just How Bad is the Crime in Crocket?

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – When Crockett Police Department (CPD) Chief Clayton Smith walked into the city council meeting Monday, Jan. 27, he presented the manpower and crime numbers as he usually does.

He reported for the month of December 2024, CPD totaled a force of 16 officers, who worked 2,389 hours during the month. They responded to 376 calls, made 31 arrests, three for assault, one for burglary and seven for possession of narcotics, among other other crimes.

Few expected the other part of Smith’s report that night – the numbers were in on the crime statistics in Crockett. Would 2024 show any improvement over 2023?

For those living in rural parts of Houston County, Crockett, the county seat, will always be the “big city” of the Piney Woods, with its dangerous crime, tough no-go neighborhoods and confusing downtown square. While imports from bigger cities may scoff at the notion of Crockett being dangerous, law enforcement officials have told The Messenger again and again – our area sees every crime they face in bigger cities – just on a smaller scale, with our less dense population.

The victim of a crime, whether in Crockett or New York, doesn’t feel any better knowing that crime is prevalent or unusual, but Smith and his officers have been working quietly behind the scenes to give a small town a big city force.

He has worked to get a drone and canine program started, to get officers rifle-proof ballistic vests, to improve training, hiring and promotions. Most of all, he has fought for more funds, to bring in more and better officers, to pay them fairly and to get much-needed equipment on the streets to face whatever may come. It is money well invested, it would seem, as Houston County is one of the corridors for all types of crimes, from narcotics to stolen goods, apart from whatever mischief locals might get themselves into. The new policies and budgets have to led to an increase in other important areas of any law enforcement effort – morale and retention of good officers. 

Smith was busy picking up some of the new patrol units soon to hit the streets when he took a moment to speak about the latest crime numbers. The new patrol vehicles came after city council voted to bite the bullet and put extra funding into the effort, recognizing how dilapidated CPD’s fleet had become. The idea was to slowly but surely replace the oldest units and have a plan in place so units could be replaced over time, as part of the city’s normal budget, instead of scrambling to find funds when one of the city’s cruisers gave up the ghost for good.

Crime, it would seem – and in spite of what people may say or think – is down. Down, for the second year in a row, in fact. Down in eye-opening percentages, almost across the board. The statistics show clearly the “Paradise in the Pines” is still very much a safe haven, given what crime has become in many parts of the country.

Both 2023 and 2024 saw one murder each in the city, the one from last year not yet cleared off the books. There were three cases of rape in 2023, only one reported case in 2024. Four robbery cases using firearms were reported in 2023, while 2024 saw only two – neither of which  using guns or knives.

The 79 assaults logged in 2023 fell to 63 last year. The 29 burglaries fell by half for 2024 to 14. Motor vehicle theft went from eight to seven and the overall number of crimes fell from its 2023 number of 209 (30% lower than 2022) to 159 – an almost 24% drop, overall.

One murder is, of course, one too many, and the victims of any of these crimes last year suffered and lost and had to deal with bad situations. But as the old saying goes, you can’t manage it if you can’t measure it, and by any measure, what CPD is doing is having a real impact on crime numbers in the city. 

“Our officers are very proactive – they’re out there, being seen,” Smith told The Messenger. “They’re rolling through the neighborhoods, around the streets, stopping cars. I think visibility is probably one of the biggest keys to crime deterrent. Something that really helps that is the fact that we’re fully staffed, so it’s really easy for those guys assigned to patrol to go out and stay out on the street.”

Smith has been a vocal proponent of staying involved in the community, rightly guessing, no matter how big his force, he can’t do the job without the public’s support. He said the people of the city itself have been one of CPD’s biggest weapons against crime. 

“An observant community that reports things to us is important. We always hear, ‘I didn’t want to call you guys. I didn’t want to waste your time. I didn’t want to bother you.’ I always tell people that’s what we’re here for,” Smith said. “You call us, no matter what. I think it’s important our citizens call us when they see something that just doesn’t seem right. There are times things they think are suspicious, really are. Sometimes, we get there and we’re able to deter something or able to catch someone before they commit that crime. The community also plays a part because they’re our eyes.”

It’s still not a good idea to leave the car idling when you pop into the store or leave cash in the open or any of the other things which can make you the victim of a crime. With its officers, new equipment and high morale, the crime stats seem to be on the right trajectory. 

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]