LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The controversial sheriff of Arkansas' largest county broke the mold of his stereotypical counterparts in the South, discarding jeans and boots and adopting dress shoes and three-piece suits.

Tommy Robinson looks more like a federal agent than a county sheriff. His brands of justice and politics have generated news and controversy for years.


He also has generated praise and criticism, probably in equal amounts, while doing what he considers is his job -- serving the public.

Robinson said most politicians today have lost sight of that responsibility, and he is considering leaving his 20-year career in law enforcement to seek an office where he can get to the root of the country's problems. Law enforcement, he says, can only do so much.

'What we're doing is treating the symptom but not the disease,' Robinson said in a recent interview. 'We can do a good job in law enforcement handling the symptom, but ultimately we're going to have to treat the disease, and I'd like to work toward that goal.'

'If I have a goal, you can rest assured that I will attain that goal.'

That goal, possibly, could be a bid for the governor's seat, running against Bill Clinton, who appointed him director of the state Department of Public Safety in 1978.

Robinson recently said he was giving serious consideration to that position, and others have mentioned him as a possible candidate for Congress.


In his three years as sheriff in Pulaski County, Arkansas' most populated county and the seat of state government, Robinson has managed to criticize everyone from a federal judge to the governor to the Pulaski County prosecutor to the Little Rock police chief.

He chained prison inmates to guard towers when state officials refused to accept them. He directed the raid of a 'toga party' at a Little Rock hotel.

Without a warrant he arrested William McArthur, one of the top defense attorneys in Arkansas, on charges of conspiracy to kill his wife, Alice McArthur. He also charged McArthur with conspiring to have him assassinated. Neither charge was prosecuted.

He jailed two top county officials for refusing to release funds for the county jail, landing himself in jail in the process for defying federal court orders. He has been sued by former deputies, some of the people he arrested and by taxpayers concerned by the way he spends the county's money.

'The reason I'm perceived as being controversial is simply because I will take a stand,' he said. 'If I believe in something or if I think something is right, I'm not afraid to stand up, to speak out and to do what I think is right. I don't worry about the criticism. I have to live with myself.'

The 42-year-old father of six began his career as a patrolman in his home town of North Little Rock. Before becoming sheriff, he served as director of the Arkansas Department of Public Safety.


After 20 years in police work, including nine as an administrator, Robinson still loves his work and thrives on the controversy he generates. The job, however, is wearing on him and his family.

'I'm at the point where I think it might be the right time for me to do something else,' he said. 'I feel I have the ability, the motivation. I'm agressive enough. I like to work and I like to solve problems, and very few politicians today really want to put the effort into doing a good job.'

Unlike most county sheriffs in Arkansas, Robinson is a hot item for the noon luncheon circuit statewide. And because the two statewide newspapers are based in Little Rock, his cases and criticisms gain notoriety throughout Arkansas. His name recognition would be good if he chose to run a statewide campaign.

If he does choose to leave law enforcement to seek another office, Robinson plans to leave a legacy in the form of his thesis for a master's degree. The paper, a project of more than five years, attempts to show that pro-active, not reactive, law enforcement is most effective.

Robinson contends police agencies nationwide overstress the importance of traffic control and neglect crime control. That attitude, he said, has alienated much of the public.

The sheriff noted that Pulaski County's crime rate fell by 16 percent in 1981, 8 percent in 1982 and in March was down 25 percent from March of last year. He said the declines were 'a result of our emphasis on catching criminals... instead of harassing folks on minor traffic violations.'


One part of his crime-fighting plan -- the anti-armed robbery program -- drew national attention last year. Robinson placed signs in convenience and liquor stores, warning that 'deadly force' would be used if a robbery was attempted.

Armed deputies were to be placed in the stores. The sign depicted a deputy aiming a double-barrel shotgun. Since the program began, not one of the 13 convenience or liquor stores participating has been robbed, Robinson said.

'We wanted to reverse the psychology and have the criminals fear for their livesinstead of the average citizens fearing for theirs,' he said.

Robinson considers himself a 'conservative' on some issues, a 'liberal' on others. He generally is opposed to gun control, but favors tight restrictions on the purchase and ownership of 'Saturday Night Specials' -- cheap handguns.

He is against the American Civil Liberties Union attempts to keep prayer out of public schools, but he supports' the ACLU's efforts to maintain the exclusionary rule, which prevents the introduction of illegally obtained evidence in a trial.