NATCHEZ — In 10 weeks the newest crop of Adams County sheriff’s deputies will take to the streets of Adams County.

The four newest deputies, hired by Sheriff Ronny Brown, will start their training Monday, in Jackson.

New deputy Ben Long said he’s looking forward to the excitement of working in law enforcement.

“It’s something new every day,” he said. “You never know what you’re going to get.”

Brown said the newest deputies will bolster the ranks and allow for four deputies to work each shift.

The sheriff’s office is currently only employing enough deputies to use three deputies per shift.

“It’s going to help us out a lot,” he said. “The more deputies we have patrolling the streets, the more we can keep criminal activity down.”

Brown said he first realized a need for more deputies months ago when scrap metal theft was on a steady incline.

Those thefts, coupled with a rash of generator thefts after Hurricane Gustav helped to solidify Brown’s notion that more deputies were needed.

While scrap metal thefts have decreased since a new law regulating their sale went into effect, additional deputies will still be put to good use, Brown said.

And currently the addition of four new deputies won’t come at any additional cost to the county’s taxpayers.

President of the Adams County Board of Supervisors Henry Watts said Brown’s budget was not amended for new hires.

Instead, Brown said the money to pay the new deputies was freed up when gas prices dropped.

Additional money was made available when some projects that had received funding came in under budget, as well, Brown said.

He also said that the new hires were hired through an employment agency and that agency is currently paying 50 percent of their salaries.

While new deputies earn $29,000 a year, Brown said, his office should be able to absorb the additional $120,000 in salaries once the deputies are no longer paid by the employment agency.

Brown said if the price of fuel goes up dramatically, it is possible his office would need a budget amendment to fund the salaries, however.

“I hope we don’t need to do that,” he said.

But for now, new recruits like Devin White are more worried about hitting the streets than budget constraints.

“I want to help to keep the community safe and make it a comfortable place to live,” he said.

Weston Watts and Chris Logan were also recently hired as deputies.