Find Crawford County Police Records

Police records in Crawford County are held by the Crawford County Sheriff's Office in Roberta. Sheriff Lewis Walker leads the office, which serves as the only county-level law enforcement agency in the area. The sheriff's office keeps incident reports, arrest records, accident reports, and jail booking data on file. Crawford County is a small, rural county in central Georgia with a population under 13,000. Public records requests are processed through the sheriff's office under the rules set by Georgia's Open Records Act, and both residents and nonresidents can request copies of available records.

Crawford County Sheriff's Office

The Crawford County Sheriff's Office is the place to go for police records in this county. Sheriff Lewis Walker runs the office, and the mailing address is PO Box 1009, Roberta, GA 31078. You can call (478) 836-3116 to reach staff during business hours. The office is open on weekdays. Walk-in requests are accepted at the front desk. If you plan to pick up copies in person, call ahead to check if they are ready. Bring a form of ID and be prepared to pay any applicable fees at the time of pickup.

Written requests are a smart approach. They create a record of what you asked for and when you asked. You can mail your request to the PO Box or deliver it in person. Include as much detail as you can about the record you need. A date, a name, or a case number will speed things up. If you are not sure exactly what you need, staff can help point you in the right direction once you give them the basic facts of the incident.

How to Request Crawford County Records

Georgia's Open Records Act under O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 gives everyone the right to inspect and copy public records. The Crawford County Sheriff's Office must follow this law. You do not need to be a county resident to make a request. You do not need to state a reason. Just identify the records you want. A clear, specific request gets the best results. Tell the office the type of record, the date range, and any names or case numbers you have. The staff will search their files and tell you what they found.

The office must respond within three business days. O.C.G.A. 50-18-71 sets that deadline for all Georgia agencies. The response may be the actual records, or it may be a message telling you when the records will be ready. Simple requests for one report can often be handled quickly. Larger requests take more time. The office will let you know the timeline. If your request is complex, they will give you updates as they work through it.

Fees in Crawford County follow state guidelines. Copies are $0.10 per page. The first 15 minutes of staff time to search and pull records are free. After that, fees are based on the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee who can do the work. If the total cost will be more than $25, the office must let you know before they proceed. You can then choose to go ahead, scale back the request, or cancel it entirely.

Note: Narrowing your request to specific dates or incident types can help keep costs down and speed up the process.

Crawford County Police Report Types

The Crawford County Sheriff's Office holds several categories of police records. Incident reports document crimes, disturbances, and other calls for service. Arrest records detail who was taken into custody, the charges, and booking information. Accident reports cover vehicle crashes investigated by county deputies. Jail booking logs track everyone who has been processed through the county detention facility. Each record type is subject to the same open records rules, though some have additional release restrictions based on state law.

Under O.C.G.A. 50-18-72, certain records are exempt from public disclosure. Investigation files tied to open cases can be withheld until the investigation is done. However, initial arrest reports and initial incident reports are always public, regardless of case status. This is an important distinction. The basic facts of any arrest or reported incident must be available to anyone who asks. Sensitive personal info like Social Security numbers and medical details gets blacked out from all released copies.

Motor vehicle accident reports have their own set of rules. Parties involved in the crash can get their report without extra steps. Third parties need to show a valid reason through a Statement of Need form. Common reasons include insurance claims, pending lawsuits, and property damage disputes. The sheriff's office reviews each statement before deciding whether to release the report.

State Agencies and Crawford County

State agencies may hold records related to incidents in Crawford County. The EPORTS system from the Georgia Department of Public Safety stores crash reports filed by the Georgia State Patrol. If a state trooper worked a crash in Crawford County, the report will be in EPORTS rather than the sheriff's files. These reports cost $5 each and can be purchased online at any time.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation may also have records from Crawford County if the GBI was brought in to assist with an investigation. The GBI has its own open records process, and requests go directly to them. They also run the Georgia Crime Information Center, which is a statewide database of criminal history records from all law enforcement agencies in the state.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association maintains a statewide directory of sheriff's offices that includes Crawford County.

The directory is useful for verifying contact information and finding neighboring county offices when you need records from more than one jurisdiction.

For crash reports from agencies across Georgia, BuyCrash from LexisNexis offers an online portal where you can search and purchase accident reports. The system pulls from multiple agencies and is available 24 hours a day.

Note: Always check whether a state trooper or a county deputy responded to the incident, because that determines which agency holds the report.

Nearby County Police Records

Crawford County sits in central Georgia and borders several other counties. If an incident happened near a county line, the report might be on file with a different sheriff's office. Confirm the exact location of the incident before submitting your request so you reach the right agency.