Sworn in at the Hopkinsville Police Department back in 2010, Captain Adam Smith has seen a lot of change over the last 12 ½ years — and some of it for the better.
During Thursday’s Hopkinsville Kiwanis Club meeting, he was able to relay a true declination of crime in the area over the last 10 years.
One of the reasons for less actual crime, he said, was the community’s persistence of reporting it.
In 2020, 2,073 felonies and misdemeanors were reported to the Hopkinsville Police Department — a number that jumped to 2,231 in 2021. Still lower than reported numbers a decade ago, Smith said the reason for the slight spike, of course, was COVID-19. As stores, businesses and homes reopened, criminal activity spiked.
During his time with the department, and under Police Chief Clayton Sumner, Smith said there’s been a push to “Focus Four,” in which the agency has actively worked to thwart four very specific types of criminal activity in and around Hopkinsville.
Gun issues remain, Smith said, particularly within the juvenile population of Christian County. But he said a lot of that stems from automobile theft, with people leaving their firearms inside of their unprotected vehicles.
And Smith squashed the notion of gang-related activity — at least at the organized level — and added that the handling of juveniles in the criminal justice system continues to be a very, very difficult situation.
Not everything has been good news. In the last two years, Smith said robbery and aggravated assaults are down in Hopkinsville, but both rape and murder is up…as is shoplifting, particularly at Walmart.
Over the last 10 years, Smith said he’s seen the drug culture change in Hopkinsville, as well. In 2010, he said he was dealing more with crack/cocaine as a predominant choice. Now, he said their narcotics division works more in manufactured crystal methamphetamine with some fentanyl and heroin concerns.
Smith is currently unopposed in the 2022 general election for Christian County jailer.
