Office of the Chief

Chief Franklin Allen began his career in law enforcement in 1981 with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Department where he worked until 1990. During that time Chief Allen served in a variety of positions eventually working his way through the ranks to Uniform Patrol Sergeant and then promoted to Narcotics Agent. From 1985 until 1990 he served as an undercover agent, major case investigator and as assistant group supervisor.

In 1990 he joined the United States Marshals Service and served in the Atlanta office for the next two years. Realizing his passion for police work and the burning desire to return to the streets, Chief Allen returned to the Spalding County Drug Task Force and served as group supervisor until 1995.

Chief Allen accepted a position as Chief Investigator with the Lake City Police Department and served in that position until 2002.

With the election of a new Sheriff and the opportunity to return home, he was offered a Captain’s position and supervised the Criminal Investigation Division of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Department. In 2006 Chief Allen was appointed as Chief of Police for the City of Grantville where he served until 2010 when he accepted his current position as Chief of Police for the City of Jonesboro.

Chief Allen is a 1985 graduate of Gordon College with an Associate’s Degree in Psychology, a 1999 graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and a 2002 graduate of Columbus State University with a Masters in Public Administration and a 2014 graduate of Saint Leo University with a Masters in Criminal Justice Administration.

As well as attaining his formal education Chief Allen is a graduate of the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College class 5, and Class 123 of the Southern Police Institute Administrative Officers Course. Chief Allen has also received his Intermediate and Advanced Law Enforcement Certification, Supervision, Management and Executive Development Certifications from POST as well as many others classes of instruction over his 31 year career. 

In June 2017 Chief Allen participated in the 25th anniversary of the Georgia Law Enforcement Exchange (GILLE) program with Isreal. Chief Allen and nineteen other law enforcement executives from Georgia participated in the exchange program with the Isreal National Police Force.  Members of the GILLE program were able to observe firsthand the methods and philosophy of the Isreal police force.  Many topics were covered during the exchange such as community relations, manpower distribution, multi-force deployment, anti-terrorism and community support initiatives.  Chief Allen was able to discover many new ideas of policing and implementation in law enforcement that can be applied here in the United States.