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  1. Columbia County Court
  2. Columbia County Arrest Records

Columbia County, Georgia Arrest Records

An arrest record in Columbia County documents the arrest of an individual by local law enforcement. Arrest records are produced and kept by the law enforcement agency responsible for the arrest. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office and city police departments, such as the Grovetown Police Department and the Harlem Police Department, maintain arrest records, depending on the department that made the arrest.

Arrest records are considered public in Georgia and are governed by the Georgia Open Records Act. However, a person's official criminal history record, which also contains arrest information, is regulated by O.C.G.A. § 35-3-30 et seq, which imposes confidentiality.

Are Arrest Records Public Information in Columbia, Georgia?

Yes. Arrest records in Columbia County are public records under the Georgia Open Records Act, codified in O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70. Georgia is one of the states with the broadest public records laws in the U.S, as there are generally no restrictive requirements to request arrest information in the state. Members of the public do not need to provide a reason for their request or an ID to request an arrest record. However, requesters may be asked for an ID or the reason for their request if the record in view is a confidential one.

What Do Public Columbia County Arrest Records Contain?

The following details are generally contained in an arrest record in Columbia County and are open to the public.

  • The arrestee's identifying information: Full name, age, race, gender, height, weight, and mugshot.
  • The details of the arrest: The arresting agency, the date of the arrest, and the location of the incident
  • The arrest charges
  • The booking details: The booking date, booking number, projected release date, and bond amount

When an individual receives an arrest record, certain pieces of information are usually redacted or blacked out. Such pieces of information are the confidential portion of an arrest record that is not available to the public. Examples of confidential information include

  • Sensitive personal data
  • Information on minors
  • The identity of crime victims, especially if the crime involved is of a sensitive nature
  • The arrestee's medical information

Columbia County, Georgia Arrest Search

Columbia County arrest records are primarily maintained by local law enforcement agencies in the county. However, these records are also transmitted to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the state's central repository of criminal history information. Such records are maintained in the Computerized Criminal History system, managed by the Georgia Crime Information Center.

Individuals can obtain their GBI criminal history report by taking a completed Criminal History Consent Form, a photo ID, and a $10 fee to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. The requester must be at least 17 years of age. Criminal offender information can also be accessed on the Georgia Felon Search Portal. The portal allows members of the public to access the felony convictions an individual may have received in the state.

For records that cover an individual's nationwide criminal history, individuals may submit a request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). However, the FBI only receives self-inquiries. Requests may be made online, by mail, or through an approved channeler.

Columbia County Inmate Locator

Inmates in Columbia County are held in the Columbia County Detention Center, managed by the Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office provides an Inmate Inquiry portal, which can be found on the Detention Center section of the Sheriff's website. Users can search for an inmate on the portal using their first and last name. Users should note that the information on the portal is limited to only individuals currently in jail and does not contain the arrest information of everyone ever arrested in the county.

Columbia County Sheriff's Office

2269 County Camp Road

Appling, Georgia 30802

Phone: (706) 541-2800

Active Warrant Search in Columbia County

An arrest warrant is an order that legally authorizes law enforcement officers in Columbia County to arrest an individual. An arrest warrant is primarily issued under two circumstances. The first is when a law enforcement officer or the District Attorney presents an affidavit demonstrating probable cause for the arrest (i.e., that a person has committed a crime). The second is when a private person, who wants another person arrested, files a police report and makes a sworn, written request to the Columbia County Magistrate Court. A third scenario exists where a judge issues a warrant when an individual does not appear for a scheduled court hearing or fails to comply with a court order.

An arrest warrant in the county generally includes the suspect's identifying information, the basis for the warrant, the date of issuance, and the signature of the judge who issued it. Once a judge signs a warrant, it is immediately forwarded to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office for execution. Individuals can call or visit the Sheriff's Office to determine if a warrant exists. Additionally, active warrants can be found on the Wanted List present on the Sheriff's Inmate Inquiry portal or on the Sheriff's Most Wanted page.

Agency / Resource

Purpose

Search Methods

Notes

Columbia County Sheriff’s Office

Maintains and serves warrants

Phone, online, in person

Executed warrants will not be found on the online database

How to Find Arrest Records for Free in Columbia County

Researchers are generally not charged a fee when accessing arrest records in Columbia County through the Inmate Inquiry portal or in person at the arresting agency's office. A fee is usually only charged when a search request includes the duplication of the record or when locating the record will consume a significant amount of time. Individuals may also find Columbia County arrest records for free through some third-party websites. However, third-party arrest information may not always reflect the information maintained by law enforcement.

Columbia County Arrest Report

An arrest record and an arrest report are documents created and maintained by law enforcement, but they represent two different types of documents. An arrest record is designed to provide members of the public with a summary of an arrest event. On the other hand, an arrest report is a detailed and complete narration written by the arresting officer of the arrest. 

An arrest report in Columbia County is usually embedded within the initial incident report. Individuals can submit a request on the Columbia County Open Records Request portal for an incident report. The fee for the request includes the time required to retrieve the record (the first 15 minutes are free) and the cost of reproducing the record.

How to Get an Arrest Record Expunged in Columbia County

The State of Georgia, under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37, does not offer a true expungement of arrest records, where the record is erased and permanently destroyed from the government's database. Instead, the law offers record restriction for eligible offenses in the state, which seals the record and makes it inaccessible to the general public.

To restrict a record in Georgia, the record must fall into one of these categories.

  • The arrest did not result in a conviction, including scenarios where the charges were dismissed, dropped, or the individual was declared not guilty in court.
  • If the offender completed a court-approved Pre-Trial Diversion Program or the Georgia First Offender Act as a means to resolve the case without a conviction.
  • If the offender received an eligible misdemeanor conviction, 4 years have passed from the completion of the sentence, and no new convictions have occurred within that period.

The process for obtaining record restriction for arrests that did not result in a conviction in Columbia County depends on the date of the arrest. For arrests that happened on or after July 1, 2013, the restriction is generally initiated by the prosecutor, and individuals do not need to file a petition in court. If the conviction happened before July 1, 2013, individuals may download, complete, and submit the Georgia Request to Restrict Arrest Record Form to the arresting agency.

Note: Individuals whose charges were dismissed because they fled the state or dropped as part of a plea deal may not be eligible for record restriction.

On the other hand, individuals who received an eligible conviction may file a petition in the court where the sentence was passed. The judge will examine the petition and, if satisfied, issue an order to restrict the record. The state allows up to two misdemeanor convictions during a person's lifetime.

How Do You Remove Columbia County Arrest Records From the Internet?

Arrest information usually ends up on the internet through law enforcement agencies or courts that provide a web-based portal where the public can access a record, as well as through private companies that aggregate the records and make them publicly available on their website. 

Individuals who want to remove their arrest record from the internet should obtain a record restriction order from the court, as government or private agencies may not oblige the request without one. A record restriction order, if issued, forces government agencies, such as law enforcement departments and the judiciary, to remove the arrest from publicly accessible databases. 

However, the order does not automatically remove the record from private websites. Individuals will have to contact the website, typically through the "Contact Us" page or equivalent, to communicate the court order and request that the record be taken down.