Search Augusta Booking Releases

Augusta booking releases are managed through the Richmond County Sheriff's Office. Augusta and Richmond County have a consolidated government, which means city and county operations share a single administration. When someone is arrested in Augusta, they are booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center, and all booking release records are kept by the Richmond County Sheriff. The sheriff's office handles both city and county law enforcement, so there is one central place for all booking data.

Richmond County Handles Augusta Booking Releases

Augusta merged with Richmond County in 1996 to form a consolidated government. Because of this, the Richmond County Sheriff's Office is also the main law enforcement body for the city. There is no separate city police force. All arrests in Augusta are made by Richmond County deputies or the Augusta-Richmond County Marshal's Office, and every person arrested goes to the county detention center for booking.

Under O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7, the sheriff must maintain a record of each inmate held in the jail. For Augusta, this covers all arrests within the consolidated city-county area. The Richmond County Sheriff's Office keeps these records in its system, and they include booking dates, charges, release dates, and other details for every person processed through the detention center.

The sheriff's main office is at 400 Walton Way, Augusta, GA 30901. You can call 706-821-1065 for questions about booking releases or jail records.

Visit the Richmond County page for full details on how to search booking release records.

Augusta Law Enforcement

Since Augusta and Richmond County share a government, law enforcement works a bit differently than in other Georgia cities. The Richmond County Sheriff's Office handles all patrol, investigations, and jail operations. The Augusta-Richmond County Marshal's Office also assists with court security and warrant service. Both agencies route arrests through the same jail.

If you are looking for an arrest report versus a booking release record, those are two different things. The arrest report comes from the officer who made the arrest. The booking release record comes from the jail. For booking data, always go to the Richmond County Sheriff. For the police report itself, contact the sheriff's office as well since they serve as the police force for the consolidated area.

Augusta also has a few smaller agencies like the Augusta University Police Department and the Fort Eisenhower (formerly Fort Gordon) military police. Arrests by these agencies may not always route through the Richmond County jail, depending on the circumstances. University police arrests typically do go to the county jail, but military arrests stay in the federal system.

How to Find Augusta Booking Releases

The Richmond County Sheriff's Office offers online tools for looking up inmates. You can search by name to find current and recent bookings. Each result will show the person's name, booking date, charges, bond amount, and release status. This is the quickest way to find what you need.

If the online search does not have what you are looking for, file an open records request. Georgia's Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 gives you the right to request booking release records from any government agency. The county must respond within three business days. You can submit your request in person at 400 Walton Way, by mail, or by calling 706-821-1065 to ask about the process.

Include the person's full name in your request. A date of birth helps narrow results. If you know the booking number or approximate arrest date, include those too. Copies cost $0.10 per page. You do not need to explain why you want the records.

The request process follows O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, which lays out how agencies must handle open records requests. Richmond County has staff trained on these procedures and processes requests on a regular basis.

What Augusta Booking Releases Include

A booking release record from the Richmond County detention center shows the person's full name, date of birth, physical description, and a booking photo. It lists the date and time of booking, all charges, the arresting agency, and any bond amounts set by the court. When the person is released, the record shows the release date and the reason for release.

Georgia law at O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 sets rules for booking photographs. This statute controls how and when mugshots can be released to the public. Richmond County follows these state rules for Augusta bookings. Some parts of a record may be held back under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 if the case involves sealed records or active investigations.

Statewide Booking Release Resources

If someone arrested in Augusta was later sent to a Georgia state prison, you can search for them through the Georgia Department of Corrections offender search. This tool covers all inmates in the state prison system. It shows current facility, sentence, and release dates.

The Georgia Open Records Act page on Justia outlines the public's right to access government records, including booking releases in Augusta.

Understanding the Open Records Act helps you know your rights when requesting booking release data from Richmond County.

The VINE notification system lets you track an inmate's status. You get alerts when someone is released from the Richmond County jail or any other Georgia facility. It is free and works around the clock. For state-level records requests, use the GDC Open Records portal or the GBI Open Records portal.

Nearby Cities

Augusta sits on the South Carolina border in east Georgia. Nearby communities that are part of the greater Augusta area include Evans and Martinez in Columbia County. Those areas use a different county jail for their bookings.