Washington County Arrest Records

In Washington County, Georgia, law enforcement officers apprehend and detain individuals following the issuance of a warrant or the presence of probable cause. When this happens, the arrestee is taken to the Washington County Jail, where they are held until trial. Details of this process, including the arrestee’s name, description, reasons for arrest, and detention center, are compiled by law enforcement officers during booking. The resulting documents are called arrest records, and they are maintained by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO).

With arrests being the first encounter an individual has with law enforcement agencies, Washington County arrest records form the basis for the creation of other legal documents, like Washington County Court Records and criminal history records.

Are Arrest Records Public in Washington County?

Per the Georgia Open Records Act, arrest records are open for review and inspection, except those that are exempted from public disclosure by a court order or law. This implies that interested individuals can request Washington arrest records from the record custodians for review, inspection, or copying.

Regarding the exempted records, they are restricted from public access to protect the parties involved in the case and the integrity of ongoing investigations or legal proceedings. Nonetheless, they are open to the holders, their attorneys, and government officials for official purposes. These exempted records include:

• Juvenile arrest records
• Victim medical records
• Records of cases undergoing investigations
• Sealed/expunged records

The Sheriff’s Office is the primary custodian of arrest records in Washington County. To gain access to them, interested persons can contact the sheriff at:

Washington County Sheriff’s Office
1735 Kaolin Rd,
Sandersville, GA 31082

Washington County Arrest Statistics

The Georgia Uniform Crime Report is the repository for Winneshiek County arrest statistics. Per the report, law enforcement officers in the county recorded up to 66 index crime reports and 31,481 arrests in 2024.

Find Washington County Arrest Records

Washington arrest records are generated and maintained by the County Sheriff’s Office. Interested persons can request to inspect or review them via any of these methods:

• Contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in person or via phone at 478-552- 4795.
• Use the Sheriff’s Office Inmate Lookup to conduct a name search.
• Visit the Washington County Jail in person at:

Washington County Jail
133 Kaolin Rd,
Sandersville, GA 31082

Notably, the above methods only provide access to local inmates or arrest records. To find inmates in state and federal prisons, one can adopt either of these:

• Use the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) Offender Search to find inmates held in state prisons.
• Use the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator to obtain federal inmate records.

Notably, all aforementioned tools and methods require record seekers to provide some accurate information that will aid an effective records search. It could be the arrestee’s name, booking number, or the date of arrest.

Washington County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Washing arrest records are official documents that contain details of arrests and the incidents that precede them. This includes names of the arrestee, their descriptions, the charges, the incidents that resulted in the arrest, as well as the date and location of the arrest. These details are compiled by the Sheriff’s Office during booking, and they are open to anyone who desires to inspect them.

Unlike arrest records, Washington criminal records cover a wider range of information. They are comprehensive compilations of all legal records created in the holder’s name, including arrest records, warrants, inmate records, and court records. This shows that an individual’s criminal record is the best resource to provide insight into their journey with the legal system; hence, the reason they are used for background checks. Washington criminal records are maintained by the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC), and they are only disclosed to the record holders, government officials, and individuals authorized by the holder.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

In Washington County, arrests do not have an expiry date. They remain on the individual’s criminal history records until they take action to restrict them. The primary action taken to restrict records from public exposure is called expungement. In Georgia, expungement refers to the removal of arrest records so that they are no longer accessible to the public. This indicates that they are still accessible to the record holders, attorneys, and government agencies. Also, it is advisable to confirm an individual’s eligibility for expungement, as the requirements for expungement of arrest records vary among offenses and convictions.

Washington County Arrest Warrants

Arrest warrants are legal documents that authorize law enforcement officers to apprehend an individual for committing a crime or violating court orders. They are issued by judicial officials of the county courts after determining probable cause that the crime was committed.

For a warrant to be considered valid, the 2024 Code of Georgia requires that all Washington County warrants must contain the following information:

• The defendant’s name.
• A clear description of the offense, including time, date, and location.
• Date and location of issuance of warrant.
• The name and signature of the issuing judge or magistrate.

Do Washington County Arrest Warrants Expire?

Washington County arrest warrants have indefinite validity; they do not have a set expiration date. Therefore, they remain on an individual’s criminal database until the individual named in the warrant is arrested or the warrant is resolved or recalled by court order. Notably, active warrants can be discovered during routine checks like airport screenings, traffic stops, and background checks for employment.

Unless stated otherwise, the Code of Georgia does not include Statutes of Limitations for most violent crimes. This means that prosecution for cases of murder, aggravated sexual battery, rape, armed robbery, and kidnapping can be commenced at any time. Nonetheless, other cases are subject to the Statutes of Limitations, which require prosecution to commence within a specified timeline.

Expunge Washington County Arrest Records

In Washington County, expungement refers to the removal of the concerned records from the individual’s criminal history records, thereby restricting them from public disclosure. It is usually affected by the arresting agency and the Georgia Criminal Information Center (GCIC) upon request by the record holders.

The first step in expunging an arrest record is to request criminal history records or court records. This will inform applicants of the specific charges to be expunged and other relevant details of the case. You can obtain these documents from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (for criminal history) or the concerned court (for court records).

After reviewing criminal history records or court records, one can submit a complete Request to Restrict Records Form to the Washington County District Attorney to request an expungement. The District Attorney will review the request and respond in about 90 days. If the request is granted, the District Attorney contacts the Georgia Criminal Information Center (GCIC), which removes the expunged information from the individual’s full criminal history records.