Search Newton County Police Records

Newton County police records are managed by the Newton County Sheriff's Office in Covington, Georgia. Sheriff Ezell Brown heads the department and oversees all law enforcement operations for the unincorporated areas of the county. The sheriff's office keeps incident reports, arrest records, accident reports, and other law enforcement files. Covington also has its own police department that handles records for incidents within city limits. If you need a police record from Newton County, the first step is figuring out which agency responded to the incident. The responding agency is the one that holds the report.

Newton County Sheriff's Office

The Newton County Sheriff's Office is at 15151 Alcovy Road NE, Covington, GA 30014. The main phone number is (678) 625-1400. Sheriff Ezell Brown has served as sheriff for multiple terms and leads a department with patrol, investigations, and administrative divisions. The records division handles all public records requests for sheriff's office files. This includes incident reports, arrest records, and crash reports from incidents handled by county deputies.

To request records, you can visit the office in person, call, or send a written request. Writing is the best approach because it creates documentation of your request. Include the date of the incident, the names of people involved, and the type of record you need. A case number helps staff locate files faster. Be as specific as you can. Vague requests take longer to process and may cost more because staff has to search through more files to find what you are looking for.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association maintains a directory with contact details for Sheriff Brown and every other county sheriff in Georgia.

Use the directory to verify the address and phone number for the Newton County Sheriff's Office before sending your request.

How to Get Police Records in Newton County

Georgia's Open Records Act is the legal basis for accessing police records in Newton County. O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 says that public records must be open for inspection and copying. This applies to police reports, arrest records, booking photos, dispatch logs, and other law enforcement documents. You do not have to live in Newton County to make a request. You do not have to state a reason. The law gives everyone the same right to access these files.

Newton County agencies have three business days to respond to your request under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71. That first response does not have to include the records. The agency just has to tell you what they found, what it will cost, and when it will be ready. Simple requests sometimes get filled on the spot. If you ask for a single incident report and the staff can pull it right up, you might walk out with it that same visit. More involved requests, like records that span a date range or involve multiple people, take longer to gather and review before release.

The fee for copies is $0.10 per page statewide. The first 15 minutes of staff search time are free. After that, agencies charge the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee who can do the work. If the cost estimate goes past $25, the agency has to contact you first. This gives you a chance to narrow your request or decide whether the cost is worth it before you commit.

Note: Always keep a copy of your written request and any response from the agency for your own records.

Newton County Incident Reports

Incident reports are the most common type of police record in Newton County. Every time a deputy responds to a call, an incident report gets created. This covers thefts, assaults, vandalism, domestic disputes, trespassing, and many other types of events. Each report includes a case number, the date and time of the event, the location, names of people involved, and a written narrative from the responding officer that describes what happened.

Under Georgia law, initial incident reports are always public. This is one of the strongest parts of the Open Records Act. Even while a case is still being investigated, you can get the initial report. The investigation file itself may be held back under O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 until the case closes, but the first report that was filed is always available. This means you can get basic information about what happened even if the case is still active and the detectives are working on it.

The Covington Police Department keeps its own incident reports for events that happen inside city limits. If you are not sure which agency handled your case, call Newton County dispatch or the sheriff's office and they can usually tell you whether the report is in their system. Oxford and Porterdale also have small police departments with their own records.

Accident Reports for Newton County

Crash reports from Newton County are available from the agency that worked the scene. If a sheriff's deputy responded, contact the Newton County Sheriff's Office. The fee for a crash report is typically $5. You can also try BuyCrash.com to download the report online if the agency has uploaded it. BuyCrash is a LexisNexis service used by many Georgia law enforcement agencies. It is one of the fastest ways to get a crash report.

For crashes on I-20 or state highways in Newton County, the Georgia State Patrol may have been the responding agency. Those reports go through the EPORTS portal at eports.gamccd.net. The fee is $5. You submit your request online, get an email when it is ready, then pay and download. The whole process usually takes about three business days. If you were involved in the crash, you can get your report without any extra steps. Third parties may need to provide a statement of need before getting a copy.

Criminal History Checks in Newton County

The Newton County Sheriff's Office can run local criminal history checks. These pull from county-level records and show arrests and charges within Newton County. The fee varies. For a statewide criminal history check, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation maintains the Georgia Crime Information Center. The GBI database covers all 159 counties and gives a much more complete picture of a person's criminal history in Georgia. Fees for GBI checks are typically around $15 to $20.

Court records from the Newton County Clerk of Superior Court are another source. These include criminal case filings, charges, pleas, trial results, and sentencing details. Police records and court records are in different systems. A police record shows you the arrest and the initial charges. Court records show you what happened after that. Looking at both gives you the full timeline from arrest through case resolution.

Note: The Georgia courts portal may have some Newton County case information available for online search.

What Newton County Records Are Public

Most police records in Newton County are open to the public. This includes initial incident reports, initial arrest reports, booking records and mug shots, 911 call records, citations, and crash reports from closed cases. Internal affairs records become public 10 days after they are filed with the agency. Crime lab reports from closed cases are also available. Georgia law provides broad access to law enforcement records.

Some information gets removed before you receive your copy. Social Security numbers are always redacted. The day and month of a birth date may be taken out. Home addresses and phone numbers of law enforcement personnel can be withheld. Medical information gets redacted. Financial account numbers are removed. These redactions protect personal privacy but do not prevent you from getting the core details of the police record itself. The names, charges, dates, and narrative sections remain intact in most cases.

Nearby Counties

For police records from counties near Newton County, check these links.