The Georgia Bureau of Investigation director is stepping down for a county job

June 23rd, 2023

GBI Director Mike Register said he’s accepted an offer to serve as public safety director for Cobb County.

GBI

The director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is stepping down after less than a year on the job.

GBI Director Mike Register said he’s accepted an offer to serve as public safety director for Cobb County in metro Atlanta. County commissioners scheduled a Tuesday vote to formally hire him.

Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Register, a former police chief, to lead the GBI and its nearly 1,000 employees last August. The agency helps local law enforcement agencies investigate murders and other serious crimes. Its agents investigate almost all shootings by police officers. The GBI also performs autopsies and runs the state’s crime lab.

“It has been an honor to be the director of the GBI and serve under one of Georgia’s greatest governors, Brian Kemp,” Register said in a statement Thursday. “I leave a great law enforcement agency with some of the most dedicated and competent professionals I have ever worked with.”

Kemp’s office said Register will remain as GBI director through July. There was no immediate announcement of who would replace him.

“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and its future success will continue to be a top priority of my administration as we work to keep Georgia families safe and support our local law enforcement partners across the state,” Kemp said in a statement.

As Cobb County’s public service director, Register would oversee 1,800 employees working in police, fire, 911 and emergency management services in the county of more than 760,000 people.

Register previously held the same job in 2019 but resigned after just four months, saying he had to leave the state for personal reasons. He has also served as police chief for Cobb and Clayton counties. Before joining the GBI, he was assistant chief of the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.