Heard County Records Search

Heard County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Ross Henry heads the Heard County Sheriff's Office. The mailing address is PO Box 339, Franklin, GA 30217. Reach them by phone at (706) 675-3329. The office handles patrol, criminal investigations, civil process, and manages the county jail. Deputies respond to calls throughout the county, and the reports from those calls are filed and stored at the office. This is the one office you need to contact for most police records in Heard County.

Franklin is a small town, and the sheriff's office is not a large operation. That can work in your favor when requesting records. The staff is familiar with their files, and the volume of requests is low compared to urban counties. A straightforward request for a single incident report can often be handled within a day if you visit the office in person. For mail requests, the turnaround depends on how quickly your letter arrives and how complex the request is.

Office hours are standard Monday through Friday. Call ahead to make sure someone is available to help with your records request, especially if you are making a special trip.

Public Access to Police Records

Georgia's open records act gives the public the right to inspect and copy government records. O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 covers all public records, including those held by law enforcement. This means incident reports, arrest records, booking logs, and other police documents are generally available to anyone who asks. You do not have to live in Heard County. You do not need to state a reason for your request.

Once you submit a request, the sheriff's office has three business days to respond under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71. In a county as small as Heard, responses tend to come quickly. The staff does not face a large backlog of requests, and they can usually locate records without much trouble. If the record cannot be released, they will tell you why and cite the specific exemption under law.

Active criminal investigation files may be withheld until the case is resolved. Juvenile records have special protections. Sealed records from the courts are off limits. Outside of these exemptions, though, most police records are open. If you get a denial that you think is wrong, O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 gives you the right to challenge it in superior court. The court can order the release of the records and may award attorney fees if the denial was not justified.

Note: Keep a copy of your written request for your own records in case you need to follow up or file a challenge later.

Steps for Requesting Records

The easiest way to get records is to visit the sheriff's office in Franklin. Bring your ID and tell the staff what you need. If you have a case number, share it right away. Case numbers speed things up more than anything else. Without one, give the date, location, and names connected to the incident. The staff will look it up in their system and tell you if the record is available and what it will cost to get a copy.

Mail requests go to PO Box 339, Franklin, GA 30217. Write out what you want clearly. Include your name, address, and phone number. If you want to pay by mail, ask the office about their payment options. Some offices accept personal checks or money orders. A few accept credit cards, but that varies. Call ahead to confirm what payment methods they take so you can include the right form of payment with your request.

Standard copies cost ten cents per page. Search fees may apply if your request involves a lot of digging through files. The office will estimate the cost for large requests before they begin. For a single report, expect to pay under five dollars. The process is simple and affordable for routine requests.

Crash Reports for Heard County

Traffic accident reports can be obtained through the Georgia DPS eReports portal online. This is the state system that collects crash reports from law enforcement agencies across Georgia. Search by date, name, or report number and download the report for a fee. It is the most convenient option, especially if you do not live near Heard County and cannot visit the sheriff's office in person.

Heard County has state routes running through it, and accidents on those roads may be investigated by the Georgia State Patrol rather than the sheriff's office. Either way, the crash report goes into the state system. You can access it through eReports regardless of which agency wrote it. Reports usually appear in the system within a week of the crash, sometimes sooner for minor incidents.

The BuyCrash system is another online option for purchasing accident reports. Not all agencies participate, but it is worth checking. Between eReports and BuyCrash, you have two good chances of finding the crash report you need without leaving home.

Statewide Records Searches

If your search goes beyond Heard County, statewide resources are available. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation offers criminal background checks that pull records from every county in the state. You submit a request to the GBI with the person's information and a fee, and they return a report showing any criminal history on file. This covers arrests and convictions statewide, giving you a fuller picture than a single county search.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association keeps a directory of all 159 sheriffs' offices in Georgia. It is a useful tool for finding the right contact when you are not sure which county handles a particular location. Heard County sits at the intersection of several other small counties, and incidents near the border could fall under a different jurisdiction. The directory shown below helps you figure out who to call.

All of these tools are available online and can be accessed from anywhere. They complement what you can get directly from the Heard County Sheriff's Office and give you options for broader searches.

Jail and Booking Information

The Heard County jail is operated by the sheriff's office. When someone is booked in, a record is created that lists the person's name, date of birth, charges, and arrest details. These are public records. You can request booking information through the standard open records process. For current inmates, calling the jail at (706) 675-3329 is the quickest way to find out if someone is in custody.

Past booking records are kept on file and can be pulled upon request. Give the person's full name and an approximate date to help the staff find what you need. Heard County is small enough that the staff may already know the case you are asking about, which can make the process even faster. Booking photos may be available, though not every office releases them as part of a standard request. Ask specifically if you need one.

Note: Bond amounts and conditions are set by a judge and are part of the court record. The jail staff can tell you what bond was set, but the court clerk's office handles the official court documents.

Nearby Counties

Heard County is bordered by four counties in west-central Georgia. For police records from these neighboring areas:

• Carroll County
• Coweta County
• Troup County
• Meriwether County