Pickens County Police Records

Pickens County police records are maintained by the Pickens County Sheriff's Office in Jasper, Georgia. Sheriff Donald Craig leads the department and serves as the chief law enforcement officer for the county. The sheriff's office handles patrol, investigations, jail operations, and records management. Pickens County sits in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains, and the sheriff's office is the main agency that generates and stores police records for the area. Jasper has a small police department that handles incidents within city limits. For anything outside the city, the sheriff's office is your source for police records.

Pickens County Sheriff's Office

The Pickens County Sheriff's Office is located at 2985 Camp Road, Jasper, GA 30143. The phone number is (706) 253-8900. Sheriff Donald Craig runs the office. The department covers all of Pickens County outside of Jasper city limits, though mutual aid agreements mean deputies sometimes assist within the city as well. The records division at the sheriff's office processes all open records requests for files created by the department.

You can request records in person, by phone, or in writing. Written requests are the recommended approach because they document what you asked for and when you asked. Include the date of the incident, names of anyone involved, the location, and the type of record you need. A case number helps the staff locate the file quickly. Pickens County is a smaller county, and the records division handles a moderate number of requests. Simple requests for a single incident report or crash report are usually processed without much delay.

The Georgia DPS EPORTS portal gives you access to Georgia State Patrol reports from Pickens County and other parts of the state.

If a State Patrol trooper took the report in Pickens County, use the EPORTS system rather than the sheriff's office to get that file.

Note: The physical office is on Camp Road, not in downtown Jasper, so plan your trip accordingly if you are visiting in person.

How to Access Records in Pickens County

The Georgia Open Records Act is the legal framework for getting police records in Pickens County. O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 says that public records are open for inspection and copying by any person. Police reports, arrest records, booking photos, dispatch logs, citations, and crash reports all count as public records under this law. You do not need to be from Pickens County. You do not need to state why you want the file. The law treats everyone the same.

Under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71, agencies have three business days to respond to a request. For a small-volume office like the Pickens County Sheriff's Office, responses often come faster than that. If you call and ask for a single report, the staff may pull it while you wait. Walk-in requests can sometimes be filled the same day. Mail requests follow the standard timeline once the letter is received.

Fees are $0.10 per page for copies. Search time is free for the first 15 minutes. After that, the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee who can do the work applies. If the total is expected to be over $25, the office will contact you before doing the work. This protects you from surprise costs and gives you the chance to narrow your request if needed.

Pickens County Incident Reports

When a Pickens County deputy responds to a call, an incident report is created. These reports cover all types of events: thefts, burglaries, assaults, domestic disputes, vandalism, trespassing, drug calls, and more. Each report includes a unique case number, the date and time, the location, names of people involved, and a narrative section written by the deputy that describes what happened during the response.

Initial incident reports are always public in Georgia. This is one of the strongest parts of the Open Records Act. You can get the initial report even while the case is still being investigated. The full investigation file may be held back under O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 while the investigation is open, but that does not affect your right to the initial report. Once the case closes, the rest of the file opens up too. This is important for people who need information quickly, such as crime victims filing insurance claims or people involved in disputes who need documentation of what happened.

The Jasper Police Department keeps its own incident reports for events that happen inside city limits. If you are not sure which agency responded, call either one and they can usually tell you.

Crash Reports from Pickens County

Crash reports from Pickens County are available from the investigating agency. If a sheriff's deputy worked the crash, request the report from the Pickens County Sheriff's Office at (706) 253-8900. The fee is typically $5 for a crash report. For Georgia State Patrol crash reports, use the EPORTS online system at eports.gamccd.net. State Patrol reports cost $5 and take about three business days to process.

The BuyCrash.com website may also have your crash report available for download if the investigating agency uses the LexisNexis platform. Pickens County has winding mountain roads and several state routes, including portions of SR 515, where the Georgia State Patrol is frequently the investigating agency for traffic crashes. If you are not sure which agency worked your crash, the sheriff's office can check the dispatch log for you.

People involved in the crash can get their report without any extra steps. Third parties who were not involved may need to give a written statement of need. Insurance companies and attorneys working on a crash case also have access under the law.

Criminal History Checks

The Pickens County Sheriff's Office can run local criminal history checks using their arrest and booking records. This covers offenses within Pickens County only. For a statewide criminal history check, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation maintains the Georgia Crime Information Center. The GBI database has criminal history data from all 159 Georgia counties and provides a much more complete picture. The fee for a GBI check is usually $15 to $20.

Court records from the Pickens County Clerk of Superior Court offer additional criminal history information. These include case filings, charges, dispositions, sentences, and probation terms. Police records document the arrest. Court records document the legal process that follows. For a full view of someone's criminal history in Pickens County, you want to look at both. The clerk's office is at the Pickens County Courthouse in Jasper. Some records may also be searchable through the Georgia courts website.

Note: The Appalachian Judicial Circuit serves Pickens County along with Fannin and Gilmer counties, so court records from this circuit may cover cases from those neighboring counties as well.

Records That Are Public in Pickens County

Most police records from Pickens County are public. The list includes initial incident reports, initial arrest reports, booking records and photos, 911 call logs, citations, and crash reports from closed investigations. Internal affairs records become public 10 days after they are filed. Crime lab reports from closed cases are also available upon request.

Some information is redacted before records are released. Social Security numbers are always removed. Birth dates may be partially hidden. Home addresses and phone numbers of law enforcement personnel can be withheld. Medical information, financial account numbers, and other sensitive personal data are also taken out. These redactions are required by law and apply to records from every agency in Georgia. The core details of the police record, including names, charges, dates, locations, and the narrative description of the incident, remain in the document that you receive.

Nearby Counties

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