Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Aug. 14, 2025 – Craighead County Sheriff Marty Boyd, who was elected sheriff in 2012, recently announced that he will not seek re-election when his term ends in December 2026. He said it is both a bittersweet and satisfying decision.

Compared to when he first started in law enforcement in 1991, Boyd said the biggest challenge is keeping up with the community’s growth.

“When I first came to work, I was the ninth deputy in Craighead County. Today we have 44 deputies. And that’s because of the population explosion that we’ve had,” he said. “In 1991, the population of Craighead County was somewhere between 35,000 to 40,000. Now, countywide, we’re 120,000. Everything has grown except the infrastructure. We’ve tried, but it’s hard to keep up with that.”

The increase in people means increased crime – and a shift in the types of crimes deputies handle as technology evolves.

“Back then, we had a radio system, and basically that was all the operation we had… that radio. Now we have so many technology-based systems that are used in law enforcement. Crimes have changed a whole lot because of technology. When I first started, the internet was a very small piece of society. Today, we have so many internet-based crimes that we deal with.”

He continued: “When you have more population, you have more crime. In ’91, we didn’t work phone scams and we didn’t work child pornography, because it wasn’t a thing. Today, unfortunately, we all see how prevalent it is. And we see it growing each day, unfortunately.”

The same is true for the county jail. When he started in 1991, he said, there were 30 detention officers, and the jail held around 90 inmates. Today, the number of detention officers has climbed to 77, he said, and inmates, around 400.

In May 2024, Boyd proposed a ballot issue to the Craighead County Quorum Court that would impose a 0.5 percent sales tax to fund either the construction of a new jail or the expansion of the current one. The measure failed by 52.21 percent at the polls in November.

Since then, his office has sought alternatives to the overcrowding issue, such as ending the 309 inmate program at the jail, and having the Northeast Arkansas Career and Technical Center build more bunks for the space where the 309 inmates were previously held.

While his career has included its share of tragedy, Boyd chooses to focus on the positive moments – the times when law enforcement made a lasting difference in someone’s life. One memory stands out vividly.

He spoke about a welfare concern call, which occurred around 20 years ago. Boyd said he got a call about a woman in her early 20s whose family could not get a hold of her. She told him she was fine, but Boyd said while speaking with her, something told him he needed to spend a bit more time with her and talk.

“I found out that she was on some medication that she couldn’t afford. But, she hadn’t been (taking it) for about a month. And I talked her into going to the doctor with me. So I said, ‘I’ll be glad to take you.’ And she said, ‘I don’t have enough money to buy my medication.’ I said ‘We’re going to figure that out,'” he said. “About two weeks later, I got a letter from her that said, ‘I was within 30 minutes of killing myself that day. I’d already planned out suicide and I just wanted you to know that you saved my life that day.’ That’s the kind of things that I remember.”

Boyd has been recognized for his leadership, including being named Arkansas Elected Official of the Year in 2018. He credited his team, saying they are the “guys in the trenches that are doing the work every day,” and that without them, he couldn’t do his job.

Boyd’s decision not to seek another term was not made lightly. He said it was a tough decision.

“Any time you’re somewhere for 35 years, it’s a hard decision to leave. Like, I’m lucky that I still have 15 months, you know, to stay here. But the community means so much to me. The employees here mean so much to me,” he said. “I love everybody here, and it’s not often that I think people have the opportunity to work in a field as long as I have, surrounded by people that you love and trust, and you want to see everyone succeed. And I’ve been able to do that.”

After retirement, Boyd said he’s looking forward to spending more time with his family and traveling with his wife. He said his wife, Tonya, was supportive of the decision, and that the two were ready to “get back and get to know each other better.”

Boyd’s message to anyone considering the role is simple but sobering.

“The biggest conversation is be careful what you ask for. You don’t know what you’re getting until you have it. There’s nothing about my career that I have doubts about. I don’t have any regrets. But this is a big job with big responsibilities,” he said. “It’s a 24/7 job. There’s not days off. There’s not time off. And that’s part of this job. And that’s what I signed up for.

Boyd also expressed confidence in Assistant Chief Deputy Jason Allen, who announced he planned to run for sheriff the same day Boyd made his announcement.

“We’ve had many conversations. It actually made my decision to retire now easier knowing that someone like Jason was waiting in the wings, willing to step up and take over,” he said. “He’s been with the sheriff’s office for 16-17 years, and he’s been assistant chief for the last three years. I’m proud of him, and I will be supporting him all I can.”

As for his own future, Boyd isn’t ruling anything out.

“I’ll never say never because I don’t know what it’s going to feel like after I’m rested,” he said. “I can’t say how much my career has meant to me and how fortunate I’ve been. But I also feel very satisfied if that makes sense.”