Find Polk County Police Records

Polk County police records are managed by the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Cedartown, Georgia. Sheriff Johnny Moats leads the department, which provides law enforcement for the unincorporated parts of the county. The sheriff's office keeps incident reports, arrest records, crash reports, and other law enforcement files. Cedartown and Rockmart both have their own police departments with separate record systems. Aragon also has a small police force. Getting a police record from Polk County starts with figuring out which of these agencies responded to the incident you are looking into.

Polk County Sheriff's Office

The Polk County Sheriff's Office is at 1676 Rockmart Hwy, Cedartown, GA 30125. The phone number is (770) 749-2901. Sheriff Johnny Moats oversees the department. The sheriff's office handles patrol in the unincorporated areas of Polk County, runs the county jail, serves civil papers and warrants, and manages the records division. All open records requests for sheriff's office files go through the administrative staff at the main office.

To request police records, you can go in person, call, or send a written request. Written requests are the best choice. They give you a record of exactly what you asked for, which is helpful if there are questions later. In your request, include the incident date, the names of people involved, the location, and the kind of record you want. If you have a case number, include it. The records staff will search their system and give you a cost estimate. For a simple request like a single incident report, the turnaround is usually quick.

Polk County is part of the Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit, which also covers Haralson County. This means some court-related records may be shared across the circuit. But police records from the sheriff's office are specific to Polk County and are handled independently from the court system.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association has a statewide directory that includes Sheriff Moats and every other county sheriff in Georgia.

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

Open Records Law for Polk County

The Georgia Open Records Act is the legal basis for accessing police records in Polk County. O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 states that public records are open for inspection and copying by any person. This includes incident reports, arrest records, booking photos, dispatch logs, citations, and crash reports maintained by the sheriff's office and local police departments. You do not need to live in Polk County. You do not need to provide a reason for your request. These rules are the same for everyone.

Under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71, agencies must respond to your request within three business days. The initial response does not have to include the actual records. It just needs to confirm what the agency has, estimate the cost, and give a timeline for delivery. Straightforward requests can sometimes be filled on the spot, especially if you visit in person. Complex requests that involve multiple files or require redactions take more time to prepare.

Fees follow the statewide schedule. Copies are $0.10 per page. Search and retrieval 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 exceed $25, the agency notifies you first. You can then choose to proceed or adjust your request to lower the cost.

Note: The Cedartown Police Department and Rockmart Police Department follow the same Open Records Act rules as the sheriff's office.

Polk County Incident Reports

Incident reports from Polk County document every event that deputies respond to. Thefts, burglaries, assaults, domestic disputes, drug-related calls, vandalism, and trespassing all generate incident reports. Each report includes a case number, the date and time of the event, the location, names of people involved, and a narrative written by the responding deputy that describes the situation and the actions taken.

Initial incident reports are always public under Georgia law. This is a key part of the Open Records Act. Even while an investigation is ongoing, the initial report must be released when requested. The full investigation file, including detective notes and evidence logs, may be withheld under O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 until the case closes. But the first report filed at the time of the incident is always available. This distinction is important because it means you do not have to wait for a case to be resolved before getting basic information about what happened.

Cedartown and Rockmart have their own police departments that file separate incident reports for events inside their city limits. If the incident happened in one of those cities, you need to contact that city's police department. The sheriff's office only keeps reports from incidents handled by county deputies.

Crash Reports for Polk County

Crash reports from Polk County are available from the agency that investigated the crash. For sheriff's office reports, call (770) 749-2901. The fee is usually $5 per crash report. You can also check BuyCrash.com to see if the report has been posted online by the investigating agency. BuyCrash is a LexisNexis service used by many Georgia departments to make crash reports available electronically.

Georgia State Patrol crash reports from Polk County are handled through the EPORTS portal. The fee is $5. Submit your request online and you will get an email when the report is done. Then you pay and download it. The process usually takes about three business days. The State Patrol covers the major highways in Polk County, including US 278 and several state routes, so they handle a significant number of the crash reports in the area.

Crash participants can get their report without additional steps. Non-participants may need a written statement of need. Insurance companies and attorneys with cases related to the crash can also obtain copies under the law.

Background Checks in Polk County

For a criminal history check in Polk County, the sheriff's office can search their local arrest and booking records. This gives you a picture of criminal activity within the county. For a statewide search, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation operates the Georgia Crime Information Center. The GBI database covers all 159 Georgia counties and is the best resource for a comprehensive criminal history check. The fee is typically $15 to $20.

Court records from the Polk County Clerk of Superior Court round out the picture. Court records include case filings, charges, dispositions, and sentences. Police records tell you about the arrest. Court records tell you about the legal process that came after. Checking both gives you the most complete view of someone's criminal history. The clerk's office is at the Polk County Courthouse in Cedartown. The Georgia courts portal may have some Polk County case information available online.

Other Polk County Law Enforcement

Polk County has three city police departments in addition to the sheriff's office. The Cedartown Police Department covers the county seat. The Rockmart Police Department serves the city of Rockmart. The Aragon Police Department handles calls in Aragon. Each of these departments maintains its own set of police records, separate from the sheriff's office.

If the incident happened inside one of these cities, you need to contact that city's police department directly for the report. The sheriff's office only has files for incidents worked by county deputies in the unincorporated parts of Polk County. If you are not sure which agency handled a particular call, contact Polk County dispatch or the sheriff's office. They can check the dispatch records to see which unit was sent to the scene and point you to the right agency. This step takes just a few minutes and prevents you from wasting time requesting records from the wrong office.

Nearby Counties

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