Chief Mark Mitchell

Mark J. Mitchell began his career in law enforcement in 1992 with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office. He started as a Patrol Deputy and in 1996 was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. As Sergeant, he supervised Deputies in Patrol, D.A.R.E, Court Security, and Criminal Investigations. Mitchell was promoted to Lieutenant in Patrol in 2005 and then a year later to the rank of 1^st Lieutenant (Executive Officer) as the Assistant Uniform Division Commander. In 2011, Mark was transferred to assume the role of Commander of the Criminal Investigation Division, where he led until he was commissioned to the rank of Captain over the Uniform Patrol Division in 2012. 

During his tenure with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, he also served sixteen (16) years as the agency’s Public Information Officer and was a seventeen (17) year member of the Newton County S.W.A.T. team, with the last six (6) years as the team Commander.

In July 2013, Mark Mitchell was selected as the Assistant Chief of Police for the Canton Police Department and worked closely with the Chief of Police to continue to improve the agency in moving forward as a very professional Law Enforcement organization. At the end of December 2014, he was appointed as the Chief of Police. Over the next five (5) years, the department worked hard to build lasting trust and partnerships with the community by following the legitimate practices of 21^st Century Policing, enhanced equipment / technical needs for officers, and strengthened opportunities for career development.

In September 2019, he was appointed to the position of Chief of Staff for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. During his tenure with the agency, he worked with a dedicated staff to change the organizational culture, improve many agency operational procedures, implemented a Peer Counseling program, deployed an agency-wide employee engagement survey, and challenged leaders to continue to develop a heart and mindset of servant leadership.  

Additionally, during his career, Mark Mitchell attained his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Troy University (Sume Cum Laude), graduated from the 207^th Session of the FBI National Academy, obtained the FBI LEEDA Trilogy Award, received his Chief’s Executive School certification from the Georgia Association of Chiefs’ of Police, and attended the 27^th Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange Delegation to Israel.