Cobb County Police Department

Department History

2009

Burglary Apprehension Team

The Burglary Apprehension Team was formed to address the rise in property crimes. The teams mission is to target areas that have high incidents of burglaries and implement enforcement and prevention methods to lower the rate. Plainclothes and Uniform Officers are used to identify and arrest suspects.

Tasers

Funds from an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice were used to purchase 100 Tasar electronic control devices and all sworn officers attended mandatory training in its use. Tasars help reduce injuries to both officers and suspects and in some cases the mere presence of a Tasar has been an effective deterrent to physical confrontation.

Resource Sharing

Always striving to help our neighbors, Cobb continues to share it Emergency Vehicle Operations Course and Firing Range with other jurisdictions that do not have facilities.

False Alarm Ordinance

The new False Alarm Ordinance went into effect this year and has reduced the false alarms by 28 percent. Fewer false alarms enhance the delivery of police services by increasing proactive patrol and reducing fuel consumption. The False Alarm Unit is self-supportive and does not sue taxpayer funding for operational costs.

K-9

Two new K-9 dogs, Robbie & Cato, were acquired this year to replace retiring dogs. A new K-9 vehicle will be purchased with grant funds to provide rapid response of the bomb-detecting K-9 team within Cobb and surrounding areas.

Reserve Police Officer Program

In September the Board of Commissioners approved the Reserve Police Officer Program which allows retired Cobb police officers to return to the department in a volunteer capacity. The reserve officers assist with necessary, yet time consuming, administrative details. As a cost-effective alternative to hiring more personnel, reserve officers relieve this burden and keep more patrol officers on the streets.

2008

Tactical Services Response Vehicle

The Cobb County Police Department in conjunction with the Federal government's 1033 surplus equipment program was able to add a new tactical response vehicle to its tactical unit. The vehicle is a LAV 300 which came from Fort Polk, Louisiana and has a value of over $500,000. The police department has taken the vehicle and made $51,000 worth of modifications to prepare it for police duty. The vehicle is equipped with a breaching tool to be used for entry into any building, safety cameras to assist with its maneuverability and a FLIR system to assist with locating suspects in darkness. The vehicle is assigned to the police department's SWAT Team and will be used in any tactical situation that requires transport of SWAT personnel and equipment to help end a conflict

Quality of Life / Code Enforcement Unit and VIPER Unit

The Cobb Police Department has added a new facility in South Cobb to house the Quality of Life / Code Enforcement Unit and VIPER Unit (Violent Incident Prevention and Early Response Unit). The facility was renovated to make it useable for police purposes. This new facility will open on November 1st and the approximate cost of the project is $100,000.

State of Georgia (GEMA) Contribution

The Cobb County Police Department was selected by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) to receive an infrared camera system (FLIR) to be used for locating suspects that attempt to elude law enforcement and to help in the search of anyone that is lost or in need of medical assistance. The FLIR unit was provided through the GEMA 1033 surplus equipment program. The value of this particular FLIR unit is approximately $50,000.

Three additional FLIR units were also obtained by the police department. These units were smaller and more portable. The cost of these was $10,000 a piece.

New Replacement Patrol Vehicles

The Cobb County Police Department updated its patrol fleet with the replacement of forty-one Ford Crown Victoria police cars. These vehicles were used to replace some of the older police units. The police fleet also added four new Dodge Chargers which are primarily used in the Traffic Services Unit.

Personnel Positions

In March, 2008, Deputy Chief Mull retired from the Cobb Police Department after forty-two years of service. During that same month, Major Houser was promoted to Deputy Chief to fill retired Deputy Chief Mull's position within the department.

Also, on October 6th, Officer Anibal E. Lopez was awarded the "Officer of the Year" award from the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. Officer Lopez was selected by a committee of law enforcement professionals and business leaders within Cobb County. He was recognized for his contribution to the police department and the growing Hispanic community within Cobb County. Officer Lopez is currently assigned to the 4th precinct which is located in East Cobb.

Re-Accreditation

The Cobb Police Department was awarded “re-accreditation” through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). The purpose of CALEA’s Accreditation Programs is to improve the delivery of public safety services, primarily by: maintaining a body of standards, developed by public safety practitioners, covering a wide range of up-to-date public safety initiatives; establishing and administering an accreditation process; and recognizing professional excellence. This was the department's first re-accreditation since its initial accreditation in 2004. The re-accreditation award was presented in March, 2008 at the CALEA Conference in Atlanta.

New Technology

The department continues updating the Mobile Data Terminals for the patrol fleet with the change-out of thirty in-car computer laptops. The cost of this project was $127,710.

The department has also continued to upgrade the patrol vehicle's video cameras with “digital” technology. This effort was started in July of 2007 with the equipment being installed in vehicles assigned to the Traffic Services Unit and Precinct 3. It was continued in 2008 with the equipment being installed in the patrol units assigned to Precinct 2. Precinct 1 will start receiving the next digital video systems during the latter part of 2008. A total of thirty-four, MPH Trueview Digital Mobile Video Systems are scheduled to be installed. The cost for this equipment was $125,785.

The department has also begun the process of searching for a new Records Management System. This new RMS system will further the capability of our officers to obtain timely information. The cost of this project is not known at this time.

Community Outreach

The Cobb Police Department has continued its efforts with a successful PENS (Police E-Mail Notification System) program where homeowners and business owners are advised of crime trends, suspect lookouts, and other important information from their local police precinct via e-mail. The project has further improved police department and community information flow and relations. The PENS program has been expanded into all five Cobb Police precincts and is considered a valuable tool of information by the citizens that use it.