- Today
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Reminders
- Cities
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Berwyn
- Beverly Hills
- Birmingham
- Boston
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fort Worth
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Knoxville
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Madison
- Memphis
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Raleigh
- Richmond
- Rutherford
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tucson
- Washington
Smyrna Today
By the People, for the People
Smyrna City Council Votes to Close Municipal Jail
City will partner with Cobb County to house inmates as Smyrna becomes last Cobb municipality to shutter its jail facility.
Mar. 3, 2026 at 5:24pm
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
The Smyrna City Council unanimously voted to close the city's 64-bed municipal jail in the coming months, with plans to work with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office to house inmates going forward. Smyrna is the last municipality in Cobb County to maintain its own jail, and city officials say the closure will be a budget-neutral move as they reallocate resources to address evolving public safety needs.
Why it matters
The closure of Smyrna's municipal jail reflects a broader trend across metro Atlanta suburbs to consolidate inmate housing at the county level, allowing smaller cities to redirect public safety resources to other priorities. As the last Cobb County city to shutter its own jail, Smyrna's decision highlights the economic and operational challenges of maintaining a standalone detention facility for a mid-sized municipality.
The details
Under the plan approved by the Smyrna City Council, the municipal jail on Atlanta Road will close on June 2, 2026. The city currently has 17 employees working at the jail, and about 10 of them will be transferred to other open positions within the city government without any reduction in pay. Smyrna already has inmate housing agreements in place with several neighboring cities, including Sandy Springs, Roswell, Acworth, and Marietta, and will now partner with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office to handle its detention needs going forward.
- The Smyrna City Council unanimously voted on the jail closure plan on Monday, March 3, 2026.
- The Smyrna municipal jail is expected to close on June 2, 2026.
The players
Mike Jones
Smyrna City Administrator, who said the city has been discussing the future of the jail for months and determined that closing the facility and reallocating resources is the best option.
What’s next
City officials will now begin studying how to repurpose the soon-to-be-vacant jail building on Atlanta Road.
The takeaway
Smyrna's decision to shutter its municipal jail and partner with Cobb County reflects a broader regional trend of smaller cities consolidating detention services at the county level, allowing them to redirect public safety resources to other priorities. As the last Cobb municipality to close its own jail, Smyrna's move highlights the operational and economic challenges facing mid-sized cities in maintaining standalone detention facilities.
