Find Charlton County Police Records

Charlton County police records are managed by the Charlton County Sheriff's Office in Folkston. The sheriff's office is the primary law enforcement agency in this rural southeast Georgia county and maintains all incident reports, arrest records, and accident documentation. Charlton County is one of the least populated counties in Georgia, which means the sheriff's office handles a lower volume of records than urban areas. Despite the small size, the same open records rules apply here as everywhere else in the state, giving the public full access to most police records on file.

Charlton County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Robert Phillips heads the Charlton County Sheriff's Office. The office is at 1548 Third Street in Folkston. You can reach them at (912) 496-7321. The department handles patrol, investigations, and jail operations for the entire county. Records requests are taken by the administrative staff during standard business hours. Walk-in requests are welcome, and calling ahead can help confirm that someone is available to assist with your specific needs.

Folkston has a small city police department that handles calls within the town limits. For anything outside Folkston, the sheriff's office is the agency with the records. Charlton County is also home to part of the Okefenokee Swamp, and incidents in the wildlife refuge area may involve federal officers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Those records would not be at the county level. For standard police records from Charlton County, though, the sheriff's office in Folkston is the place to go.

Requesting Charlton County Police Records

Georgia's Open Records Act gives you the right to request police records from the Charlton County Sheriff's Office. O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 is the law that sets this up. You can make your request in person at the Third Street office in Folkston, by phone, or by mail. Written requests are the safest bet. They create a record of what you asked for and when. If you mail your request, send it to 1548 Third Street, Folkston, GA 31537.

Include your name, contact details, and a clear description of the records you want. A case number makes things simple. If you don't have one, give a date, a location, and the names of those involved. The sheriff's office must respond within three business days per O.C.G.A. 50-18-71. In a small county like Charlton, the turnaround can be faster than that. There are fewer files to sort through, and staff can often find what you need on the spot if you come in during business hours.

You do not need to give a reason for your request. Georgia law does not require it. You do not need to be a county resident either. The records are public, and anyone can ask for them.

Note: Charlton County's small size often means faster turnaround times compared to larger, busier counties.

Types of Charlton County Police Records

The Charlton County Sheriff's Office stores incident reports, arrest records, and crash reports. Incident reports cover every call that deputies respond to. Thefts, property damage, disturbances, and other criminal matters all get documented in individual reports. Arrest records track people booked into the county jail, including the charges, the arresting deputy, and bond information.

O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 says initial incident and arrest reports are public records. This holds true even during active investigations. The sheriff's office may keep certain parts of an investigation file confidential if releasing them would compromise the case. But the initial report is always open. When you request records, the staff will let you know if any redactions have been made and which exemption applies. Personal data like Social Security numbers is always removed before release.

Crash reports in Charlton County follow the same split as other Georgia counties. Reports written by county deputies are at the sheriff's office. Reports filed by the Georgia State Patrol are in the EPORTS database. In rural Charlton County, troopers respond to many highway accidents, so the EPORTS system is worth checking alongside the sheriff's office for any crash-related records.

Fees and Costs for Charlton County Records

Fees for police records in Charlton County follow state law. Copies cost $0.10 per page. The first 15 minutes of search time by staff are free. After that, the office can charge based on the hourly pay of the lowest-paid employee able to perform the search. If the total estimate goes past $25, the sheriff's office has to let you know before they proceed. You then decide whether to go ahead, trim the request, or cancel entirely.

Inspecting records in person is always free. If you just want to see a file without taking copies home, you can visit the office and look at it there during business hours. This is a good option if you only need to check a few details or verify information from a specific report. The staff will make the records available for your review within a reasonable time frame. Charlton County's lower volume of records means the wait is usually short.

State Resources for Charlton County

The Georgia DPS EPORTS system at eports.gamccd.net handles crash reports filed by the State Patrol in Charlton County.

Each report costs $5 to download. The system allows searches by date, location, and name, making it straightforward to find a specific crash report from the State Patrol's work in Charlton County.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation may hold records for major cases in Charlton County where the GBI was called to assist. Their records come through a separate open records process. The Georgia Sheriffs' Association directory lists Charlton County along with every other Georgia sheriff's office. Contact details are kept current on their site, which can be helpful when verifying Charlton County info.

The BuyCrash portal is a secondary tool for finding crash reports from participating Georgia agencies. Not every report from Charlton County may be available there, but it is another resource to try if other avenues come up empty.

Note: The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has federal law enforcement that handles incidents on refuge property, separate from the Charlton County Sheriff's Office.

Nearby County Police Records

Charlton County shares borders with several counties in far southeast Georgia. If an incident happened near a county line, the report could be on file with a neighboring sheriff's office.