Cazort gets top job at crime-data hub

A longtime member of the Little Rock Board of Directors was tapped Monday to lead the Arkansas Crime Information Center, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced.

Brad Cazort, whose most recent day job has been as an administrator of the Repository Division at the Crime Information Center, will replace Jay Winters, who is departing for health reasons, according to a news release.

The center, often referred to as ACIC, collects and publishes crime statistics for criminal-justice agencies across the state. It also manages the crime victim notification system and the sex-offender registry.

According to a release announcing the governor’s appointment, Cazort has worked at the Crime Information Center since 2005, when he started as administrator of the Special Services Division. He’s also served as a spokesman for the center.

For 20 years, Cazort represented Little Rock’s Ward 4. He decided not to run for re-election last year.

“I am deeply appreciative of the trust and confidence the Governor and ACIC Board have placed in me,” Cazort said in the release. “I look forward to the continued growth of the mission at ACIC to ensure that we always provide the most accurate data in the most efficient manner to those who need it.”

Hutchinson also thanked Winters for his service under two governors.

“After I was elected governor in 2014, Jay was one of three agency directors that I asked to stay on. His stellar service confirms he was the right person for the job, and his service to our state will be missed.”

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s database of state salaries, Winters earned $104,459.89 as the center’s director.