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Cobb sheriff says jail has become de facto mental‑health provider; office added 24‑hour clinicians and padded rooms
Summary
Sheriff Craig Owens told Cobb County listeners that jail now houses many people with mental‑health needs, described steps the sheriff's office has taken — 24‑hour mental‑health coverage, telemedicine, padded cells and de‑escalation tools — and stressed the limits of local capacity when state inpatient resources are scarce.
Sheriff Craig Owens said Cobb County’s detention center now houses a large number of people with mental‑health issues and that the jail has become “your de facto mental‑health care institution.” Owens described new and planned changes intended to reduce risks and improve care, while warning that local officials cannot solve statewide capacity shortfalls alone.
Owens, speaking on the Cobb County Smart Justice Works podcast hosted by Solicitor General Mackie Metzger, said the sheriff’s office now has a 24‑hour mental‑health professional available either in person or by telemedicine and uses deputies’ body‑camera footage during intake so clinicians can see and evaluate people as they are booked. “We were the first sheriff’s office to have a 24‑hour mental‑health care…
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