Clinton Police Chief gives crime stats update

By Randy Bell

Felony crime in Clinton is down across the board compared to last year’s totals, but Police Chief Ford Hayman warns that the last few weeks of 2024 could be busy ones for his department. Still, Hayman is optimistic.

“We’re hoping that we’re going to be able to hold tight and that, when we’re said and done, crime will have decreased a little bit again.”

Through November 19, Clinton Police Department (CPD) had investigated 34 auto burglaries this year, compared to 46 during 2023. Residential burglaries had dropped from 11 to nine, and there had been only one business burglary, down from five last year.

Grand larcenies were holding at 18, after 27 of those crimes in 2023, only one armed robbery had been reported compared to four last year, and the number of carjackings had dropped from two to one.

The chief says the crime numbers have been trending downward since 2013. As of November 19, the police department had made 1,914 arrests in 2024, including 1,049 for contempt of court. Hayman says holding people accountable for refusing to pay tickets and not showing up for court dates is “a big contributor” to Clinton’s lower crime rate.

He credits CPD’s traffic division for identifying many of those with outstanding warrants during the course of traffic stops – and that three-person division is getting beefed up soon. The chief says a sergeant who’s returning from military duty will be added to the traffic unit, along with another officer.

And, according to Hayman, it’s about more than just making the streets safer. He believes a greater police presence in the community gets the attention of people who might be thinking about committing a crime in Clinton.

“They just can’t stand seeing the blue lights and knowing that there are officers out here that are willing to work,” he says. “It makes a big difference.”