Clay County sheriff uses social media videos to send message to criminals

Clay County's sheriff is using social media to send a message to criminals.

“You can either stop what you're doing, leave Clay County, or we will arrest you,” Sheriff Darryl Daniels said in one of six videos made by the Sheriff's Office.

The video, which shows deputies in tactical gear breaking down a home's door to make an arrest, is getting the attention of neighbors in Clay County.

“That was scary,” Jacky Cortes said.

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“Wow. Think I have seen that before actually on Facebook,” Christina Bauer said.

On Tuesday, we showed people the videos created by the Sheriff’s Office. One talks about locking your car doors and one is geared toward criminals.

“I strongly agree. My kids live here. They go to the schools around here and I don’t want drugs around my children,” Bauer said.

The videos, which can be watched on the Sheriff’s Office YouTube and Facebook pages, are getting mixed reaction.

“Gotta go big or go home,” Bauer said.

“I think that’s a little dramatic, for real,” neighbor Alex Williams said.

On Tuesday, we sat down with Daniels to talk about the new videos.

“For those that would say it’s a bit dramatic. Is it? It’s just a simple message. A simple message of A + B = C. Commit crime in Clay County plus think that’s OK equals we will come and get you,” Daniels said.

During the first six months of this year, seven narcotics search warrants have been executed, 161 arrests made for drug-related crimes and 1,097 total arrests made on warrants.

“We’re actively going out there pursuing misconduct and criminal misconduct in this community and we’re trying to rid Clay County of that,” Daniels said.

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We requested numbers on drug-related arrests in Clay County. From January to April, there were 296 people arrested in 2015. In 2016, there were 322 arrests and in 2017, that number increased to 356.

So far on Facebook, the sheriff's message has reached more than 135,000 people, been watched 53,000 times and been shared more than 1,100 times.

"Everything we do now days, especially teenagers. Everything is through social media. Everything!” Cortes said.

The six videos were created at no direct cost to taxpayers. Deputies say their total cost was about $2,000. The money came from the crime prevention fund, which comes from uniform citations.

Cox Media Group