03/28/2024
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The Clarkton Town Board met on Tuesday and one item which was conspicuously absent from the town’s agenda and board discussions was law enforcement. The board has requested assistance from the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office in the form of two deputies who would be assigned to patrol the town. The town staff are also in the process of installing a camera system to monitor certain areas of the town deemed to be trouble spots.

In the minutes from the May 2, 2017 board meeting it is noted Town Commissioner Jerome Myers asked about the monitoring of security cameras which are being installed by the town. The minutes from the May Board meeting show Town Commissioner Tim Tart told the board he didn’t think the town needed Deputies and it would be “cheaper for the town to hire an outside company to monitor the security cameras.” The May minutes show no further action was taken on the matter in that meeting.

In the June meeting, the matter did not appear on the agenda and was not discussed during the meeting.

Bladen Online has learned the town of Clarkton has purchased 16 security cameras from Tyco in Raleigh which are currently being installed in strategic locations throughout the town at a cost of $150,000, according to Town Commissioner Tim Tart. The system will also be monitored at a cost of $25,000 per year. Town Commissioner Tart said the decision to purchase the cameras was made about one year ago and the town has been working with Duke Energy to ensure the cameras have a power source. The cameras have only recently begun to be installed.

When asked how he learned about the camera system, Town Commissioner Tart said he went to a camera store in Whiteville, though he could not recall the name of the store, and the store referred him to Tyco. When asked if he was kin to anyone working at Tyco, he replied, “No. Not that I know of.”

Town Commissioner Tart did sit down with Bladen Online to discuss his opinion on the security cameras and the hiring of deputies.

“I didn’t think we were getting coverage from law enforcement. This (the camera system) is something that will deter the people that are out there doing things,” said Tart.

He related there was an incident in the town several years ago where someone entered the grocery store through the roof and robbed the store. Town Commissioner Tart claims the robbery remains unsolved. He said the security cameras will help to identify anyone attempting to commit such a crime today.

He said the cameras will cover the banks, convenience stores, doctor offices and several businesses and some of the citizens. “We’ve had problems that I felt like these cameras would pay off— that you can go back to them. Just like, we have drug dealers walking the streets. We can pick them up walking the streets (on camera) all the law has got to do is stop them and read the cameras and see what is going on. A man doesn’t walk up down the street ten times without doing something,” said Town Commissioner Tart.

There has been some discussion of the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office being given office space at Oakdale Homes apartments on South College Street to use as a substation. The town of Clarkton has also requested assistance from the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office in the form of two deputies assigned to the town. “One of our (town) Commissioners has talked with the Sheriff and he is in the process of trying to figure out something they might be able to offer us at a fee, but I don’t feel like we should have a fee,” said Town Commissioner Tart. “I feel like with what we are providing them with cameras and stuff, to stop some of this stuff, that they can step up to the plate and give us a little something. I know Mr. McVicker is doing a good job, but we still need help from them.”

Town Commissioner Tart said the fee discussed for the Sheriff’s deputies, if the town board approves the measure, will be $150,000 for the first year. He said that will be equivalent to half of the town’s budget.

“We built the pot (the general fund) back up to where we were able to do the camera system and now I feel like that maybe the Sheriff should step up some more. I think we are entitled to more coverage than what we’ve got,” said Town Commissioner Tart.

When asked if he thought a Sheriff’s Office substation located in Oakdale Homes would help the situation, Town Commissioner Tart responded by saying Oakdale Homes is a federal government owned complex which provides little revenue to the town.

The town of Clarkton did operate its own police department at one time. Town Commissioner Tart said it became too expensive to operate and the town had to close it. When asked if the town of Clarkton went back to having its own police department, Town Commissioner Tart said the cost would more than $300,000, which is the entire budget of the town.

He said the most recent attempt at a police department saw the town with one law enforcement officer which did not result in adequate coverage of the town. “I feel like the cameras give us more coverage and we are spending this money up front, at least we have got cameras. It’s not wasted out there in police who are not going to do anything,” said Town Commissioner Tart.

The town of Clarkton currently has a population of 1,000 people and was originally founded in 1861. The town was originally a stop for the railroad. It was big tobacco market town in the 1950s, 60’s and 70s. Town Commissioner Tart said that once the tobacco markets closed, you could see a distinct change in the town.

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