The 2nd Judicial Task Force, which serves Butler, Crenshaw and Lowndes Counties, will operate from Butler County, according to Butler County Sheriff Chief Deputy Joe Salter. The department received the letter awarding the grant on Monday.

“This will benefit all three counties,” Salter said. “Until now, it was hard to work drugs as hard as we needed to. Now, we will always have an officer assigned just to drugs.”

Chief Lonzo Ingram, with the Greenville Police Department, said Lt. Byron Russell would be assigned as commander of the Drug Task Force.

“This helps us get more dedicated manpower for drug enforcement,” Ingram said. “We look forward to the drug task force doing a great job here in Butler County.”

The grant amounts to approximately $127,000, Ingram said, and will primarily be used to reimburse salaries for departments that have personnel assigned to drugs. Greenville Police Department, Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Department and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department will all have officers assigned to the task force.

Unlike Lowndes County in the past, Butler County won’t have to pay out matching funds. Starting in 2010, grants are awarded at 100-percent with no match required from the county that is selected to run the task force agency.