
Captain Frank Copeland
email Captain Copeland
Captain Frank Copeland is the commander of the Communications-Addressing Division and the Office of Professional Standards. He is responsible for managing the daily operations of the 911 center and conducting inquiries and investigations into allegations of serious misconduct by any Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office employee.
Captain Copeland also serves as the public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office and is the agency’s Crisis Negotiation Team Leader.
Captain Copeland is an 26-year veteran law enforcement officer, beginning his career in Moultrie, Georgia in 1998. He also served with the Woodstock and Holly Springs, Georgia Police Departments before coming to the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office in 2005. During his law enforcement career, Captain Copeland has served in such varied positions as a patrol officer, detective, uniform division commander, administrative division commander and was the interim Chief of Police in Holly Springs, Georgia. Since joining our agency, Captain Copeland has served as a patrol deputy, court deputy, detective, internal affairs investigator, public information officer and division commander.
Captain Copeland serves as the commander of the Human Resources, Sexual Offender and Background Investigations and Certification Units. Captain Copeland is a member of the National Internal Affairs Investigators Association. He is also a State of Georgia Law Enforcement Certification Assessor and Certification Manager. Captain Copeland is certified as an Accreditation Manager by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) Captain Copeland is a graduate of the State of Georgia’s Law Enforcement Professional Management Program. During his career, Captain Copeland has completed over 1900 hours of advanced and in-service training.

Sergeant Donavie Laney
Deputy Director
706-515-2612
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Deputy Director Donavie Laney serves under Captain Frank Copeland in the Communications Division and is responsible for running the day-to-day operations, including scheduling, maintaining the division’s equipment and supplies, and ensuring all employees meet the training hours required by the Georgia POST Council and the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Director Laney is a 19-year veteran in public safety. She began her career with the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office in 2005 as a Communications Officer. In 2010, Donavie Laney was promoted to sergeant and assigned as a shift supervisor. In 2016, she was assigned as lead sergeant in the Communications Division, where she started handling daily operations and serving as the Open Records Clerk for the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office.
In February 2024, Donavie Laney was promoted to Deputy Director of Communications and assigned her present position.
Deputy Director Laney graduated from Gilmer County High School in 2005 and is dedicated to being a vital link in delivering assistance to the citizens of Gilmer County in their time of need.