An increase in local criminal activity was noted during this week’s Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting.

County Outreach Director Brandon Hamilton gave a quarterly report on the department which provides probation supervision services to court-ordered individuals, as well as substance abuse assessment and/or evaluations and service renewals. Hamilton told the supervisors he currently has 135 clients on supervised probation. This is a 58% increase from when Hamilton started in the position in 2019. He also explained that since October 2020 they have been providing supervision for pretrial release individuals, which he has 21 currently, an 83% increase since he took over. Hamilton believes overall the crime rate is up, as County Attorney John Gish has informed him of having a record number of indictments and convictions.