GBI Director Mike Register is leaving the state agency and returning to his former position as Cobb County’s public safety director, county officials announced Thursday.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners will vote on Tuesday to name Register to the role. His last day at the GBI is July 30.
“We are thrilled that he has agreed to come back and lead Public Safety in Cobb,” Cobb County Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said in a statement. “We are making tremendous strides in public safety, and it will be a tremendous benefit to our citizens to have a director who has already forged relationships in the community and has a deep understanding of the opportunities we have as a county.”
In his resignation letter to Gov. Brian Kemp, Register said Assistant Director Chris Hosey is “more than capable” of leading the GBI into the future.
“It has been an honor to be the director of the GBI and serve under one of Georgia’s greatest governors,” Register wrote. “I leave a great law enforcement agency with some of the most dedicated and competent professionals I have ever worked with. I look forward to leading the tremendous men and women who make up public safety in Cobb County and once again serve a great community.”
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Register praised the GBI and said he he enjoyed his time there, but said he’s excited about returning to Cobb, where he lives. When he learned county officials were conducting a national search for a new DPS director, he said he had to throw his name in the hat.
“I missed home,” said Register, who has spent more than three decades in law enforcement. “That’s my community and I missed being on the local level of law enforcement. I love the GBI, but my heart’s really there with the county.”
He will take over a position vacated when Randy Crider retired at the end of 2022. Fire Chief Bill Johnson has served as interim director since the beginning of the year.
Register was appointed by Kemp last August to fill the vacancy left by former GBI Director Vic Reynolds, who was appointed by the governor to serve as a superior court judge in Cobb. His resignation comes just months after GBI’s second-in-command, John Melvin, left his job.
“I greatly appreciate Director Register’s service in this vitally important public safety role for our state, and we wish him and his family well in their next chapter,” Kemp said in a statement. “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 an announcement about the agency’s next director will be made at a later date.
Before being appointed to the GBI, Register served as assistant chief in the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, overseeing the agency’s internal affairs division, community engagement and uniform field operations. He previously served as Cobb’s public safety director and the chief of both Cobb and Clayton County’s police departments.
Register began his career in law enforcement in Bibb County in 1982. He served 23 years in the U.S. Army Special Operations, which included combat operations in Afghanistan.
