Hart County Police Records

Sheriff's Office Contact Info

Sheriff Chris Carroll runs the Hart County Sheriff's Office. The office is at 890 Vickery Street, Hartwell, GA 30643. Phone is (706) 376-3114. The sheriff's office patrols the county, runs the detention center, serves court papers, and investigates crimes. They maintain records from all of these operations. If you need a police report from Hart County, this is where you make your request.

Hartwell also has its own city police department that handles calls inside city limits. If the incident you need a report for happened in downtown Hartwell or within the city, the Hartwell Police Department may have the record instead. When you are not sure, call the sheriff's office first. They can tell you which agency responded and where to direct your request. The two agencies share the same area and communicate regularly.

The office takes walk-in visitors during business hours. You can also call or write. For simple questions about whether a record exists, a phone call is usually enough to get a quick answer.

Georgia Open Records and Hart County

Georgia law provides public access to government records through the open records act. O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 states that all public records are open for personal inspection and copying by any citizen. This includes police incident reports, arrest documents, and other law enforcement records. You do not need to be from Hart County. You do not need to explain your reasons. The right to access these records belongs to everyone.

After you submit a request, the agency has three business days to respond. That is the standard under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71. In a small county like Hart, the response is often quicker. The office staff knows where things are, and they do not face the same volume of requests as larger agencies. A single report can often be pulled the same day if you visit in person.

Not every record can be released. Active investigations, juvenile files, and sealed records are all exempt. But the agency has to tell you which exemption they are using if they deny a request. You have the right to challenge any denial under O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 by filing a complaint in superior court. That option is rarely needed for routine requests, but it exists as a legal safeguard.

Submitting a Records Request

You can request records in person, by mail, or by phone. For in-person requests, visit 890 Vickery Street in Hartwell during business hours. Bring your ID and have the details of your request ready. A case number is the fastest way to find a record. Without one, use the date of the incident, the location, and the names of the people involved.

For mail requests, write to the Hart County Sheriff's Office at 890 Vickery Street, Hartwell, GA 30643. Include your full name, a way to reach you, and a description of what records you need. Be as specific as you can. Vague requests take longer to process because the staff has to search more broadly. Specific requests get answered faster and cost less.

Copies are ten cents per page. If the request requires a lot of staff time to fill, they may add a labor charge based on the hourly rate of the employee doing the work. For a single report, you are looking at a couple of dollars at most. The office will tell you the cost before they start work on anything that would be expensive.

Note: You can inspect records at the office without paying for copies if you just need to review the information and do not need to take it with you.

Traffic Crash Reports

Accident reports from Hart County are available online through the Georgia DPS eReports system. This is the state-run portal for traffic crash reports. You search by name, date, or report number and pay a small fee to download. The system covers crashes investigated by any agency in the state, including local sheriff's deputies and Georgia State Patrol troopers.

Hart County has several state routes and US highways passing through it, and Lake Hartwell draws visitors who sometimes get into accidents in the area. Whether the crash happened on a main road or a back road, the report should be in the eReports system once the investigating officer files it. That usually takes about a week, though more serious accidents may take longer. The portal below allows you to search the entire state database for crash reports.

If you prefer not to use the online system, you can request the report from the investigating agency directly. For crashes the sheriff's office handled, contact them. For State Patrol crashes, contact the local GSP post.

Booking and Arrest Records

The Hart County Detention Center is operated by the sheriff's office. Every person booked into the jail gets a record created that shows their name, charges, date of arrest, and basic personal information. These are public records. You can request copies through the sheriff's office the same way you would request any other police document.

For people currently in custody, calling the detention center is the easiest way to check. Staff can tell you if someone is being held, what the charges are, and whether bond has been set. They can give you this information over the phone in most cases. For historical booking records of people who have been released, a written request is the better approach. Provide the person's name and any details you have to help narrow the search.

Booking photos may or may not be available depending on the circumstances and the office's current policy. It does not hurt to ask. The worst they can do is tell you the photos are not available for that particular record.

State-Level Search Tools

If your search goes beyond Hart County, there are statewide tools that can help. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation runs a criminal history check service. Submit a request with the person's information and a processing fee, and the GBI searches their statewide database for any criminal records. The results cover all counties, not just Hart.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association has a directory that lists every sheriff's office in the state with contact details. It is a handy resource if you need to reach out to a neighboring county or are not sure which jurisdiction handled a particular matter. Between the GBI, the eReports system, and the association directory, you have several tools for searching records across Georgia without having to call each county one by one.

Nearby Counties

Hart County shares borders with several counties in northeast Georgia. If your search takes you to a neighboring county, use these links:

• Franklin County
• Elbert County
• Madison County
• Stephens County