Cobb County sheriff uses youth engagement as a safety, officer pipeline tool [Video]

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — If you ask Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens, the key to maintaining a safe community is engaging with its young people.

“Most of the incidents occurring throughout the United States are with youth, so why not start with them?” he asked.

11Alive talked to Sheriff Owens for an exclusive preview of his first community briefing of the year. It’s a community-wide invitation to an event that updates people in the county on public safety and community initiatives.

As protests and demonstrations pop up on college campuses across the nation, many ending in arrests, the sheriff says he wants to start a dialogue before introducing handcuffs.

“We try to tell [the youth] how to coexist with law enforcement, because a lot of times when things go awry, it’s because we don’t …