By Joe Johnson
A veteran Athens-Clarke County police officer who left the force nearly three year ago to bebome chief of poice for a Georgia college was chosen to be chief of Probation Services.
Mark Pulliam filles a position that has been vacant since August 2020, when his predecessor, Dale Allen, passed away.
According to a release issued by the county Thursday morning, the judges of the Western Judicial Circuit selected Pulliam after having "interviewed an outstanding field of candidates to fill the chief probation officer position.
“Chief Pulliam brings the knowledge, skills, understanding of the community, and the desire to continue the positive trends and people-centric focus on accountability and rehabilitation. We look forward to his service in the Courts and in our community,” said Eric Norris, the judicial circuit's chief judge.
Pulliam grew up in Clarke County and graduated from Cedar Shoals High School. He received his associate’s degree from Athens Technical College and went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree from Piedmont College before pursuing a master’s degree in Public Safety Administration at Columbus State University.
Pulliam's law enforcement career began in 1997 at the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, working in the jail. In 2001 he joined the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, where where he worked in the Patrol and Criminal Investigations divisions, and the Traffic Unit. He was an ACCPD lieutenant when he accepted the position of Chief of Police for North Georgia Technical College in 2018.
He began as Athens-Clarke County's chief probation officer on Monday.
"Pulliam will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to Probation Services having dedicated his entire professional career in law enforcement" the county release stated. "Probation Services, under Pulliam’s leadership, will continue to lead the pursuit of the public safety priority action to develop a comprehensive, person-centered community supervision plan for our community. The mission of the Athens-Clarke County Probation Services Office is to enhance public safety and promote offender reintegration in the community through proactive supervision and referral to community-based resources."
Pulliam stated, “I am really thankful for the opportunity to come back to Athens and to once again serve the citizens of Athens-Clarke County.”
Pulliam and his wife, Christy, have three grown children and 10 grandchildren.