3 months ago
If you don't think you can turn around a life of crime, you've probably never heard the story of one Twiggs County Sheriff's cruiser.
The Sheriff's Office is taking the tools of crime and turning them into crime fighting tools.
They wiped away one car's sordid past a gave it a chance to help the community.
"It has two amps," says Sergeant Oscar Basley, with the Twiggs County Sheriff's Office. "It has an 8-inch woofer with the neon lights and everything."
It looks more like a sports car than a police cruiser, but the 1999 Ford Mustang GT is actually both. Sergeant Basley hits the street with the car, but just three years ago, it was a tool for less honorable deeds.
In 2006, the Sheriff's Office confiscated it from drug dealers during a road-block on Highway-56.
"They had methamphetamine, scales, and of course, cash," says Basley.
Rather than punish it for a life of crime, the Sheriff's Office has bigger plans.
They decked out the car and gave it to Basley, who now uses it to teach fifth and sixth graders about drug prevention.
"The property actually ended up in the hands of the Sheriff's office," says Basley. "So now we take that and use it for a positive."
And kids and teachers agree the car really makes a statement.
"When they see the car, they know they're about to learn something else," says Deena Maye, a teacher at Twiggs Academy." Every week is just something new that they're gonna learn, so it just catches their attention."
The car doesn't just serve the community through teaching, says Sheriff Darren Mitchum. He says it also save money.
He says a typical cruiser would cost about $30,000 dollars, money that would come from taxpayers.
Basley's car, including its add-on patrol equipment, cost about $10,000, and it all came from one drug bust.
"We take every opportunity that's out there to try to cut the cost to the taxpayers to operate this office," says Sheriff Mitchum.
Basley says he's glad the car drives home a message to young people, but also admits, he feels pretty cool behind the wheel.
"I do sometimes. It has some get-up-and-go about it," says Mitchum.
Sheriff Mitchum says they've bought 5 vehicles so far. All were paid for with cash seized from drug dealers.
