Canine (K9) Team
The Sheriff's Office maintains canines of various disciplines including narcotics detection, explosives detection, tracking, and apprehension. The canines are utilized by specially trained and certified handlers. Our canines are responsible for weekly sweeps of the Judicial Complex for explosives, Braves games and stadium security. The K-9 unit routinely assist other agencies both inside and out of Cobb County with tracking of missing or lost persons.
Civil Section
The Civil Section is tasked with the responsibility of preparing and serving civil processes received from the Courts of Cobb County, as well as other jurisdictions. In addition to process service, this section executes court orders that include the completion of Evictions, Writs of Possession and the collection of other judgments issued by the courts.
The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office is legally obligated to execute a judge’s eviction orders. Due to the ongoing pandemic and the financial crisis, the county courts and the Sheriff’s Office have received more than 2,000 writs for evictions with delinquent rent as the dispossesory.
The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office does not physically remove tenants’ items, arrest tenants for inability to pay their rent, decide who gets evicted and who does not. Nor does the Sheriff’s Office provide legal advice to tenants facing eviction.
Sheriff’s deputies will treat all tenants with dignity and respect and will staff the eviction to ensure the safety of all in attendance.
Court Security
By Georgia Statute (O.C.G.A. 15-16-10 (a)(2) the Sheriff is responsible for the security of the Cobb County Court Facilities. Sheriff’s Deputies, Security Control Technicians, and Bailiffs assigned to the Court Services Section of the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office insure the security of the Cobb County Court Facilities twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
- Responsible for the safety and security of several government building to include: Superior Court, State Court, Magistrate Court, Probate Court, Juvenile Court, Public Safety Building, Solicitors Office, and the Cobb County Commissioner’s Building.
- Conduct approximately 750,00 annual security screenings throughout the judicial complex.
- Responsible for the direct safety of security of 12 State Court Judges, 10 Superior Court Judges, 4 Juvenile Court Judges, 6 Superior Court Senior Judges, 2 Probate Judges, 19 Magistrate Judges.
- Responsible for the direct safety and security of multiple elected officials to include: State Court Clerk, Superior Court Clerk, District Attorney, Solicitor General, and the County Commissioners.
- Responsible for the direct safety and security of the Judicial Complex during critical incidents to include protests, demonstrations, bomb threats, active shooter and suspicious package calls.
Fugitive Apprehension and Support Team (F.A.S.T.)
The Fugitive Apprehension and Support Team (F.A.S.T.) is a multifunctional unit within Field Operations. These specially trained deputies routinely attempt high risk warrants, complete high risk transports, work traffic, respond to 911 calls, assist other agencies, and assist every division of the Sheriff's Office as needed.
SWAT
Warrant Section
The service of criminal warrants is one the most challenging and hazardous duties in law enforcement today since the offender is typically aware that charges are pending and jail is their next destination. The primary responsibility of the Warrant Section is the processing and execution of criminal arrest warrants, civil processes and mental health transports. Additional duties often include funeral escorts, inmate compassionate visits and assisting other law enforcement agencies in and around Cobb County.
In an average year, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Section receives over 28,000 criminal warrants. When a criminal warrant is received in the Warrant Section an immediate process begins towards the execution of the warrant. This process includes recording the warrant in the Sheriff’s Office database, identifying the suspect, checking the criminal history of the suspect and placing the wanted person on the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. Once this process has been completed the warrant is forwarded to uniform deputies or to the Fugitive Section where attempts are made to locate and apprehend the wanted person.
A typical day for a warrant deputy includes pursuing leads, gathering information, searching houses or businesses, and ultimately affecting the arrest of wanted individuals. Often volatile and unpredictable situations develop resulting in the individual trying to resist or escape. It is not uncommon for warrant deputies to have to travel throughout the State and sometimes to neighboring states to pick up individuals who are wanted by Cobb County.
This section also works closely with local Mental Health Care facilities and the courts in locating, apprehending and safely transporting mentally ill or drug/alcohol dependent persons, determined by the Probate Court or a Doctor to be in need of treatment, to emergency receiving facilities throughout the state for treatment. These individuals are sometimes unpredictable and situations can become violent and potentially dangerous very quickly.
These uniform deputies also enforce Georgia traffic laws by issuing traffic citations and making arrests when necessary.