Albany Police Records Lookup

Police records in Albany are maintained by the Albany Police Department, which is the primary law enforcement agency for this southwest Georgia city. Albany is the largest city in Dougherty County and serves as the regional hub for the surrounding area with a population of about 66,700 residents. The police department handles all calls within the city limits and keeps records of incidents, arrests, traffic crashes, and other law enforcement activities. If something happened in Albany and a city officer responded, the Albany PD has the report on file.

Albany Police Department

The Albany Police Department is located at 201 W Oglethorpe Blvd, Albany, GA 31701. The main number is (229) 431-2100. The department serves the entire city of Albany and has a records division that processes open records requests. You can visit during business hours or mail in your request. The front desk staff can tell you what they need from you to pull the records.

Albany PD is a sizable department for a city its size. They handle patrol, traffic, criminal investigations, and community programs. The records they generate from these operations are public under Georgia law. If you need a copy of an incident report, an arrest report, or a crash report taken by an Albany officer, this is where to get it.

The Albany Police Department page on the city website has details about the department, contact info for divisions, and links to community resources.

How to Request Albany Police Records

Start by contacting the records division at Albany PD. Tell them what you need. Give them dates, names, locations, or case numbers. The more you can tell them, the faster they can find the right file. You can go in person or send a written request. Some requests can also be handled by phone for simple things like confirming a report exists.

Georgia's Open Records Act applies here. Under O.C.G.A. 50-18-70, police records are public records and anyone can request them. You do not have to say why you need the records or prove that you were involved in the incident. The law treats all requests the same. Albany PD must follow this law just like every other agency in the state.

The department has three business days to respond under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71. They can give you the records, tell you the cost, or deny the request in writing with the legal reason cited. For a single report, the turnaround is often faster than three days. Larger requests that need a records search will take more time.

Note: If you are requesting records about a specific person, having their full legal name and date of birth helps narrow the search and avoid confusion with similar names.

Albany Crash and Accident Reports

Accident reports are among the most requested police records in Albany. If you were in a crash and an Albany officer handled it, the report is with Albany PD. Visit the records window with the date and location. The fee for a crash report is around $5. If you have the report number, that speeds things up considerably.

For crashes handled by the Georgia State Patrol, the report goes through the state system. You can access those through the Georgia EPORTS system, which charges $5 per report. State Patrol handles crashes on highways and interstates that pass through the Albany area. If you are not sure who responded, try both the city department and the state system.

The BuyCrash portal from LexisNexis is another way to find crash reports. It pulls from many Georgia agencies. You search by name, date, or report number. This is useful when you do not know which agency took the report.

Open Records Laws and Exemptions

Albany operates under the same open records laws as every other city in Georgia. O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 lists the records that are exempt from public access. Active investigation files can be withheld while the case is open. Records involving confidential informants or those that could put someone in danger may also be restricted. These exemptions protect ongoing police work and public safety.

But the law is clear that initial incident reports and initial arrest reports are always public. Even if the investigation is active, those first reports must be made available. This is an important point because some agencies may try to withhold more than the law allows. If you are told a report is not available and you believe it should be, you can ask for the specific code section that supports the denial.

Fees follow state rules. Paper copies cost $0.10 per page. The first 15 minutes of search time are free. After that, the agency can charge at the hourly rate of the lowest-paid worker who can do the search. If costs will exceed $25, they must tell you first. Most single-report requests cost just a few dollars. Albany PD handles a steady flow of records requests and has the process down.

Albany Arrest and Incident Records

Arrest records from Albany PD include the person's name, the charges filed, the date, and where the arrest took place. These are public. You can request them at the records window. If the person was booked into the Dougherty County Jail, the county also has booking and intake records. The Dougherty County government website can point you to the sheriff's office for those records.

Incident reports cover a wide range of calls. From property crimes to assaults to fraud reports, each one gets a case number and an officer narrative. If you know when and where the incident took place, the records staff can pull it from the system. Albany is a busy city and the department handles a lot of calls, so being specific helps.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association directory can help if your search goes beyond the city into the county or if you need to reach the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office. That directory has contact info for every sheriff in the state.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association provides a statewide directory that can help you find the right law enforcement contact in Dougherty County and beyond.

This directory is helpful when you need to reach the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office or another county agency that may have records related to your Albany search.

Note: Albany PD and the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office are separate agencies with separate records systems, so you may need to contact both depending on the situation.

Dougherty County Records

Albany is in Dougherty County. For county-level police records, sheriff records, and jail information, visit the Dougherty County police records page. The Dougherty County Sheriff's Office handles law enforcement in the unincorporated parts of the county and runs the county jail. If someone was arrested in Albany and booked into the county jail, Dougherty County has those booking records as well.

Nearby Cities

The closest qualifying city to Albany is Valdosta, located in south Georgia. It has its own police department and records process.

• Valdosta