Gov. Brian Kemp swears in Mike Register as the head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on August 25, 2022. (Office of the Georgia Governor)
ATLANTA - Michael Register was sworn in as the new head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
He was sworn in by Gov. Brian Kemp in the governor's ceremonial chambers at the Gold Dome on Thursday.
Register’s long resume in law enforcement includes working for the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office as well as serving as the chief of police for Cobb and Clayton counties. During his time in Cobb County, he focused on improving relations between county police and a rapidly diversifying community. Register in 2019 was promoted to public safety director in Cobb County, overseeing police, fire and emergency management. Register stepped down from the public safety director’s position after only four months in 2019, saying he needed to move out of state for personal reasons.
Register returned to Georgia, becoming assistant chief of the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the jail, guards courts and serves warrants in the county of more than 750,000 people.
Register previously also served as an executive for a military contractor. He spent 23 years in the U.S. Army as a special forces engineer and special forces medic, including two combat tours in Afghanistan.
Register takes the reins at the 950-employee GBI at a time when Reynolds has focused on investigating gangs and lawmakers have tasked the agency with investigating election crimes. Many local agencies rely on GBI to help them investigate murders and other serious crimes, and the agency investigates almost all shootings by police officers. GBI also performs autopsies and runs the state’s crime lab.
Register replaces Vic Reynolds, who was sworn in earlier this month as a Superior Court Judge in Cobb County.