Search Duluth Police Records

Duluth police records are maintained by the Duluth Police Department in Gwinnett County, Georgia. If you need an incident report, arrest record, or accident report from within Duluth city limits, the police department is where you start. Duluth has a population of about 33,000 and sits in the northeast part of metro Atlanta. Police records in Duluth are public under the Georgia Open Records Act. You can request copies by filing an open records request with the department in person, by mail, or by email. Gwinnett County agencies handle incidents outside city limits.

Duluth Police Department

The Duluth Police Department handles all law enforcement within Duluth city limits. Officers respond to calls, take incident reports, make arrests, investigate crimes, and write accident reports. The records division keeps copies of every police report filed by Duluth officers. If a Duluth officer wrote the report, you get it here. You can reach the department by phone, go in person, or submit a written request to ask about any police record on file.

The department is on Buford Highway in Duluth. Records staff work standard weekday business hours. Walk-in requests for police reports are common and generally handled quickly when you have the right details. Bring the date, location, names of those involved, and a case number if one was given to you. Staff can search their system faster with those specifics. Duluth's location in Gwinnett County means the department handles a steady volume of police records requests.

How to Get Duluth Police Records

Getting police records in Duluth means filing an open records request. The Georgia Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 gives the public the right to inspect and copy records from government agencies, including the Duluth Police Department. You can file your request in person, by mail, or by email. For a single incident report or accident report, going in person is typically the fastest way. Larger requests are easier to manage in writing so there is a clear record of what you asked for.

Under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71, the Duluth Police Department must respond within three business days. They will provide the records, give a cost estimate, or issue a written denial that cites the specific exemption. The first 15 minutes of search time are free. Copies cost $0.10 per page. If the total goes past $25, they have to tell you before they start the work. You can then decide whether to proceed or narrow your request to keep costs down.

Your written request should include your full name, contact info, and a specific description of the records you need. For instance: "I need the incident report from June 5, 2025, at 1500 Buford Highway in Duluth." That kind of detail gets results fast. A request that says "all police reports from June" will cost more and take longer to process.

Note: Georgia law does not require you to state why you want police records. You only need to describe what records you are looking for.

Duluth Accident Reports

Accident reports are among the most requested police records in Duluth. Buford Highway, Pleasant Hill Road, and other corridors carry heavy traffic through the area. When a Duluth police officer responds to a crash, the accident report stays with the Duluth Police Department. You can request a copy through the records division using the same open records process that applies to any other police record.

If the Georgia State Patrol handled the crash on a state highway, that report goes through a different system. State Patrol crash reports are available online through the EPORTS portal. Each report costs $5 and arrives by email. You can also reach the DPS Open Records Unit at openrecords@gsp.net or (404) 624-7591. Knowing which agency was on the scene tells you where to file the request.

When a local agency uploads their crash reports to BuyCrash, it can be a fast way to get a Duluth accident report online.

Open Records Law and Duluth Police

All requests for Duluth police records fall under the Georgia Open Records Act. The law covers a wide range of records: incident reports, arrest records, accident reports, dispatch logs, and most other documents the department creates. The principle is straightforward. Public agencies produce public records, and the public can see them.

O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 sets out the exemptions. Active investigation records are the most common. If sharing a file could compromise an ongoing case, the department can hold it. But initial incident reports and initial arrest reports are always public. Even during an open investigation, you can access the basic facts. Who was involved, what happened, and where it took place are all part of the initial report. Once the investigation closes, the complete file generally becomes available.

Records that could endanger someone or reveal confidential sources are also protected. If you think a denial was wrong, contact the Georgia Attorney General's office for guidance on your appeal options.

Criminal Records in Duluth

A police report captures one incident. Criminal records paint a broader picture. They include arrests, charges, court outcomes, and sentencing across time and across agencies. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation runs the Georgia Crime Information Center for statewide criminal history checks. You can submit requests through the GBI open records portal. This is a different system from the records the Duluth Police Department keeps.

Court records for Duluth criminal cases are managed through Gwinnett County. The Gwinnett County Clerk of Superior Court holds case files with charges, plea agreements, trial outcomes, and sentencing. The police report from Duluth and the court record from Gwinnett County together give you the full story from the initial incident through the final disposition of the case.

Note: Juvenile and sealed records are not available to the public under Georgia law, regardless of which agency holds them.

Gwinnett County Sheriff and Other Agencies

The Duluth Police Department is not the only law enforcement agency in the area. The Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office covers unincorporated parts of the county and operates the county jail. The Gwinnett County Police Department is a separate agency that handles policing in unincorporated Gwinnett. If an incident happened outside Duluth city limits, one of these agencies may have the report.

Several other cities in Gwinnett County have their own police departments too. Lawrenceville, Sugar Hill, and other nearby cities each keep their own set of police records. Figuring out which agency responded to the incident is always the first step when searching for police records in this part of metro Atlanta. If you send your request to the wrong agency, they will not have the file you need.

The directory is helpful when you need to reach the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office or find another sheriff's office across the state.

Requesting Duluth Police Records by Mail

You can send an open records request by mail if an in-person visit does not work. Address it to the Duluth Police Department, 3276 Buford Hwy, Duluth, GA 30096. Include your full name, mailing address, phone number, and a detailed description of the police records you need. If you have a case number, include it.

Include payment if you know the cost. Otherwise, the department will contact you with the amount before they start processing. Mail requests take longer because of postal transit in both directions. Plan for at least two weeks total. Keep a copy of your request for your own records.

Gwinnett County Police Records

Duluth is in Gwinnett County. For county-level police records or incidents outside city limits, the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office and Gwinnett County Police Department are the agencies to contact. Our county page has more details about police records available through Gwinnett County.

View Gwinnett County Police Records

Nearby Cities

These cities near Duluth have police records available through their local departments or county agencies.