Burke County Arrest Records

Arrest records are official documentation for persons taken into law enforcement custody for suspicion of or the commission of a crime in Burke County, Georgia. Such records may refer to booking information, fingerprint details, the arrestee's description and information, and the arresting agency or officer's details. These records accumulate with arrests executed by law enforcement agencies such as the Burke County Sheriff's Office.

Individuals in Burke County law enforcement custody are generally held at the Burke County Detention Center. This facility mainly holds individuals waiting for bond, trial, arraignment, or serving minor sentences. These records are primarily maintained by the Burke County Sheriff's Office, while some arrest records can be found in criminal court documents. Requesters can access Burke County court records through the relevant county court where the case was filed.

Are Arrest Records Public in Burke County?

Yes, Burke County arrest records are generally considered public records under the Georgia Open Records Act. The public can access these records provided they do not contain restricted information, which is also contained in the Act. Such restricted information is not publicly available for privacy protection or public safety. These restrictions include:

• Juvenile records
• Records that are restricted or expunged by court orders
• Records from ongoing investigations

Requesters can access the primary custodian of the Burke County arrest records at:

Burke County Sheriff's Office
225 Highway 24 South
Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
Phone: (706) 554-2133

Burke County Arrest Statistics

According to the FBI UCR website, Burke County arrest statistics for the past two years reveal 33 arrests for all other offenses. The county recorded eight arrests for simple assault, five arrests for aggravated assault, 6 arrests for burglary, and 4 arrests for larceny. There were 2 arrests for motor vehicle theftwhile the county recorded no arrests for arsn, murder, robbery, and rape.

Find Burke County Arrest Records

Burke County arrest records can be accessed and obtained through the Sheriff's Office, the Georgia Department of Corrections, and the courts. The sheriff's office is the primary custodian of Burke County arrest records, where the public can submit in-person requests. This office also accepts and processes requests sent via mail. The Department of Corrections and the courts will also accept and process records requests sent via mail or submitted in person. The sheriff's office provides an Inmate Inquiry website through which requesters can access updated county inmate information. The state also maintains a Find an Offender website through the Department of Corrections. This website provides a search tool that allows searches by name, age, case number, ID, and other relevant details.

Burke County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Burke County arrest records refer to documentation of an individual's detention by law enforcement agencies. Arrest records provide details of the individual in custody, the arrest situation, the charges, the arresting agency, and the officer. These records are primarily maintained by the county sheriff's office, but can also be obtained from agencies like the courts and the Department of Corrections. Arrest records will also contain and be limited to mugshots, booking details, and bond information. These details cannot be used as proof of guilt against the arrested individual because they do not contain any information about convictions.

Criminal records, which can also be described as criminal history or rap sheet, refer to a more detailed account of an individual's interactions with the justice system. They contain arrest records, trial documents, conviction records, and incarceration details. Criminal records can be used as proof of guilt where the arrested individual is found guilty and sentenced by the court accordingly.

Unlike arrest records, criminal records contain criminal court proceedings and the outcomes. They are maintained by the same agencies that maintain arrest records, but they are usually more sensitive depending on the crimes charged. These records will contain charge sheets, arrest and booking details, court trial records, sentencing information, and probation, and parole details.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

Burke County arrests will remain on your records indefinitely until legal steps are taken to remove or seal them. The process for removing records from public access in Burke County used to be expungement, but is now called Record Restriction. The new name fits the process better as the records are not destroyed or deleted. They are removed from publicly accessible archives and moved to private storage, where only law enforcement and the courts can access them.

Thus, they will not appear in any public records search. This process requires some conditions for eligibility, which vary depending on whether there is a conviction. To restrict your arrest records, apply to the relevant office, the Burke County District Attorney's office for felonies or the Burke County Solicitor General's Office for misdemeanors.

Burke County Arrest Warrants

Burke County arrest warrants refer to legal documents that direct or command the arrest of a certain individual for the suspicion or commission of an offense. Arrest warrants are issued by a judicial officer (judge or magistrate) to law enforcement for the legal detention of a named person. These warrants are applied for by law enforcement officers. Private citizens can also apply for a warrant where they rightly believe they are victims of a crime. For citizen applications, there is usually a hearing before the warrant is issued. This hearing is conducted to determine if there is probable cause. Where this is established, the court issues the warrant, and citizen applicants may be required to sign the warrant in the position of the prosecutor. Burke County Arrest warrants generally contain the accused's name, the issuing authority's details, the issuance date, the arrest directive or command, the charged offense, and the jurisdiction where the warrant was issued. Arrest warrants can also be issued by a court during trials for persons who do not show up in court. Such warrants are called bench warrants.

Do Burke County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No, Burke County arrest warrants do not have expiration dates and do not expire due to time limits. Arrest warrants will remain active after being signed by a judge until the person named in the document dies or is in law enforcement custody. These documents can also be canceled or quashed when a judge recalls them. Arrest warrants for charges subject to statutes of limitations will also remain active after the time for prosecuting the case has passed. While the warrant remains active, it does not mean the case can be pursued further by the prosecution. Criminal charges like felonies punishable by death or a life sentence have no statute of limitations, while other felonies generally have a four-year statute of limitations. County policies may not affect the length of validity of arrest warrants because they are subject to state laws, which have the higher executive authority.

Expunge Burke County Arrest Records

Burke County allows individuals who are qualified to remove their records from public access. This is done through a process called Record Restriction, which was formerly expungement. The term was changed because the records are not completely deleted or destroyed. They are removed from publicly accessible archives but will remain accessible to judicial officials and law enforcement agencies for criminal justice purposes. To qualify for the Record Restriction process, individuals must meet these conditions:

• There must be no conviction. This means the was a acquittal, dismissal or nolle prosequi,overturned or vacated conviction, or no prosecution.
• If convicted of a misdemeanor, the waiting period of 4 years must be satisfied.
• If convicted of a felony, the offender must have received a pardon from the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Individuals who meet these conditions can begin the process by identifying the relevant prosecuting agency, obtaining their criminal history report, and contacting the relevant office, which can be the Burke County District Attorney for felonies or the Burke County Solicitor General for misdemeanors. Submit the request with supporting documents and wait for it to be reviewed. If it is approved, it will be sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, where the restriction will be applied to the GCIC criminal history. You can verify the restriction by accessing your criminal history report.