Commissioner: Gregory C. Dozier

Director of Public Affairs: Joan Heath

Larry Dale Promoted

FORSYTH, Ga. – Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Gregory C. Dozier announced the promotion of Larry Dale to Director of Risk Reductions Services (RRS) effective August 16, 2017. As Director, Dale will lead and direct the operations and oversight of the counseling services, and the cognitive and substance abuse programs.

“We are excited to have Larry return to the Georgia Department of Corrections to lead Risk Reduction Services,” said Commissioner Dozier. “He has helped the state of Georgia make great strides in Criminal Justice Reform and the Georgia Prisoner Reentry Initiative, and offers a wealth of knowledge to our agency.”

In 1993, Dale graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Criminal Justice, and went to work for the Fort Valley Police Department. He started his career with the State of Georgia in 1996, as a Parole Officer with the State Board of Pardons and Parole (PAP). While with PAP, Dale became a POST Certified Instructor for the agency and a Cognitive Behavioral Programs Instructor. 

Dale transferred to the Georgia Department of Corrections as a Program Development Consultant for the Cognitive Behavioral Programs Unit in the agency’s newly formed Risk Reduction Services division in 2002. While a Program Development Consultant, Dale wrote the Cognitive Leadership Training. In 2004, Dale was promoted to Program Director of the Cognitive Behavioral Programs Unit, and was promoted again in 2006, to Senior Manager for Risk Reduction Services. As Senior Manager, Dale oversaw the agency’s Counseling, Substance Abuse, Cognitive Behavioral, Vocational, and Academic Education programs. During this time, Dale also oversaw the agency’s Research, Evaluation, and Assessment Development unit. 

In 2014, Dale transferred to the Governor’s Office of Transition Support and Reentry (GOTSR) as the agency’s first Community Coordinator for Macon-Bibb County. In 2015, Dale was promoted to the position of Statewide Community Coordinator. In this role, Dale oversaw community coordinators in the five original pilot sites and helped expand the initiative to seventeen sites across the state. 

In 2016, Dale joined the Department of Community Supervision’s Reentry Services unit as the Senior Manager, where he most recently served. He continued to help implement the Georgia Prisoner Reentry Initiative (GA-PRI) and developed the agency’s continuous quality improvement procedures for all PRI field staff. 

About the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC)

The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) has one of the largest prison systems in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising nearly 52,000 state prisoners. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 10,500 employees. For more information on the GDC, call 478-992-5247 or visit https://gdc.georgia.gov.