In just four days, Andy Hughes will take over as Houston County's new sheriff. And while some are expecting major changes within the department, Hughes says he is going to tread lightly as he takes the reigns from long time sheriff, Lamar Glover.

"I'm not the type of person to run in and start making a bunch of changes and shoving stuff down peoples throats. I want to make sure that there is a need to start with and we can identify the kind of changes that need to be made," said Hughes.

Hugh's says the department's unity in working toward a specified goal is crucial in order to be effective on the streets.

Hughes says, "We're not out to write everybody a ticket... we're not to put everybody in jail, we just want to make that we're accomplishing what we need to accomplish by changing people's behavior... whether it be their driving behavior or their general feelings so that we can better serve the citizens of Houston County."

Alex Something many people may not know is that there are 586 square miles in Houston County and with the current manpower at the sheriff's office, there are not enough deputies to cover that much ground. Sheriff Elect Hugh's says he plans to change that and that he plans to also improve the department's emergency response time."

"Number one we want to provide services to citizens in a timely response for both emergency and non emergency calls. And we also want to provide ample back up for the deputies to respond to the calls," said Hughes.

Drug enforcement is another area Hughes plans to invest a lot of resources in. He says, "The drug war is a war we'll never win and it's time to attack it on a daily basis and concentrate on drugs."

So what will happen to the decals on every department vehicle with Sheriff Lamar Glover's name on them? Andy Hughes says he'll take them off and that there is no need to spend money on putting his name, in their place.

Hughes will be sworn in as Sheriff of Houston County on Friday January 5th, and he will officially assume control of the department on January 15th.