Access Turner County Police Records

Turner County police records are available through the sheriff's office in Ashburn, the county seat of this south-central Georgia county. Sheriff Andy Hester runs the Turner County Sheriff's Office, which serves as the chief law enforcement agency for the area. The department keeps incident reports, arrest records, crash reports, and other police documents. Ashburn has its own police department as well, so records from inside city limits may be with the Ashburn PD instead. The county is small, and the sheriff's office is the place most people start when looking for police records in Turner County.

Turner County Sheriff's Office

The Turner County Sheriff's Office is at 1301 Industrial Drive, Ashburn, GA 31714. Sheriff Andy Hester heads the department. The phone number is (229) 567-2401. This is the main office for police records in Turner County. They handle requests for incident reports, arrest records, and all other law enforcement files.

Visit in person for the fastest service. Bring a valid ID and the details of the record you are looking for. Case numbers speed up the search. If you do not have a case number, provide the date, location, and names of the people involved. Staff will look through their system and tell you what is available. The cost depends on how many pages the record runs.

You can also make requests by mail. Send your letter to 1301 Industrial Drive, Ashburn, GA 31714. Include your name, return address, phone number, and all known details about the record. Be specific in your description. Phone calls to (229) 567-2401 are good for checking whether a record exists before you go in or write.

The EPORTS portal from the Georgia Department of Public Safety provides access to State Patrol reports covering Turner County.

State Patrol incidents in Turner County are available through EPORTS rather than the sheriff's office. Check there if a trooper responded.

Open Records Act and Turner County

Georgia's Open Records Act makes police records in Turner County available to anyone who asks. O.C.G.A. 50-18-70 establishes that public records must be open for inspection and copying. That means incident reports, arrest logs, booking records, and other police files from Turner County agencies are accessible. No residency requirement. No need to explain yourself.

Agencies must respond within three business days under O.C.G.A. 50-18-71. The response has to confirm whether the records exist and give you a cost estimate. Turner County is small, and responses often come faster than the legal maximum. But three days is the hard limit for that first acknowledgment. If you do not hear back in three business days, the agency is out of compliance.

Copies are $0.10 per page. Search time is free for the first 15 minutes. Hourly charges after that are based on the lowest-paid employee who can handle your request. Any estimate over $25 needs your approval before the work continues. These cost rules are set by state law and apply in Turner County the same as everywhere else in Georgia.

Turner County Accident Reports

Crash reports are among the most requested police records in Turner County. Interstate 75 runs through the county, which means plenty of traffic and accidents. If a sheriff's deputy or Ashburn officer handled the crash, contact that agency. If the Georgia State Patrol responded, the report goes through a different system.

State Patrol crash reports are available at eports.gamccd.net for $5 each. You can also check BuyCrash.com for reports that have been uploaded. Interstate 75 crashes are frequently worked by the State Patrol, so these online systems are where you should look first for I-75 incidents in Turner County.

For local crash reports, call the sheriff's office at (229) 567-2401. Give them the crash date, road or intersection, and driver names. Reports for crash parties are usually around $5. Non-parties may face additional requirements before the agency releases the report.

Note: Interstate 75 exits in Turner County see frequent accident activity, and State Patrol reports for these crashes are usually found on EPORTS.

Exemptions to Turner County Records

Georgia law lists specific exemptions that let agencies hold back certain police records. O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 covers the categories. Active investigation files are the primary exemption used in Turner County. While deputies are working a case, the detailed file can be kept from public view. Witness statements, evidence logs, and investigative notes fall under this protection.

But initial reports stay public. Initial incident reports and arrest reports are always available. The basic who, what, when, and where comes out immediately. Only the deeper investigative material gets withheld during an active case. Once the investigation closes and court proceedings wrap up, the entire file opens to the public.

Standard redactions apply to all released records. Social Security numbers are removed. Law enforcement officers' home addresses and personal phone numbers are protected. Medical information and certain birth date details are also blacked out. These are consistent across every Georgia county.

Criminal Records in Turner County

Arrest records from the Turner County Sheriff's Office show who was booked and what charges were filed. These are event-specific records. For a full criminal background covering all of Georgia, contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The GBI runs the Georgia Crime Information Center, which holds criminal history data from every county.

Court records in Turner County are kept by the Clerk of Superior Court in Ashburn. These files cover what happens after an arrest moves into the court system. Charges, hearings, plea deals, trials, and sentencing all live in the court record. Police records and court records are two separate things maintained by two separate offices. Check both for the full story.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association has a directory of every sheriff's office in the state. Use it to verify contact information for Turner County or any neighboring county.

Note: The Turner County Clerk of Superior Court maintains court files separately from the sheriff's office police records.

Ashburn Police Department

The Ashburn Police Department covers law enforcement inside Ashburn city limits. If the incident happened in town, the Ashburn PD likely has the report rather than the sheriff's office. Their files are separate systems. You need to contact the correct agency.

All the same Open Records Act rules apply to Ashburn PD. Same fees. Same response deadlines. Same exemptions. The only variable is which office has the record. If you are unsure who responded, call either agency and they can point you the right way. Both offices are in Ashburn, so in-person visits to either one are convenient.

Nearby Counties

Police records from counties near Turner County are available through these links.