Courtesy of WCTV:

By: Emma Wheeler | WCTV Eyewitness News 

LOWNDES COUNTY, Ga. (WCTV) — A new effort is underway in Lowndes County to create a safer community.

On Wednesday, Judge John Edwards swore in a new probation director and probation officers. This is the first time Lowndes County will have its own probation office. Before this, officials were using an outside company to fulfill probation requirements.

Judge Edwards said the new department will provide better services for offenders, as well as the community as a whole.

“By holding individuals accountable who were convicted and sentenced by a court, a probation officer insures that that sentence is actually carried out. Many times that sentence is a direct reflection of what the community can expect in terms of people who were convicted in offenses,” Edwards said.

County officials said the need is there, because anyone with a misdemeanor offense will utilize these services.

The county set aside $800,000 for the new department.

(WCTV)