Sworn in alongside a swathe of staff members and deputy jailers Thursday afternoon in the Christian County Judicial Center, the new Jailer Adam Smith is jumping immediately to the task.
Work, he said, will begin right away on the acclimation process — something he’s going to need after 12 years in the service of the Hopkinsville Police Department.
Responsible for a number of inmates from surrounding counties, Smith said the biggest blessing has been the incredibly easy audible of authority from appointed Jailer Brad Hewell, who assumed the position July 31 following the retirement of Jailer Brad Boyd.
Smith, in fact, had a hard time finding the words to describe Hewell’s efforts.
In 2010, Smith first came to the HPD as a lifelong local resident seeking patrol officer duties and detective work. He was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant and captain during his time there, at one point managing a team of 40 while coordinating an operating budget north of $1 million.
In running for jailer, Smith noted time and again his hopes to continue the curb of criminal recidivism, and that a move from police to corrections would put him in a direct path for those kinds of efforts.