Decatur County Booking Releases

Decatur County booking releases are maintained by the Decatur County Sheriff's Office in Bainbridge, Georgia. This southwest Georgia county sits along the Florida border and the Flint River, serving a community that spans several small towns and rural areas. The Sheriff's Office operates the county jail, which processes all local bookings and releases. Records are kept in the county system and available to the public through direct contact with the jail or through formal open records requests.

Decatur County Sheriff Booking Releases

The Decatur County Sheriff's Office manages the county jail and all booking release records. The office is located at 150 Malcolm Askew Court in Bainbridge. Call (229) 248-3022 for questions about inmate records and jail bookings. Staff process arrests from sheriff's deputies, the Bainbridge Public Safety Department, and state agencies.

Under O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7, every Georgia sheriff must keep a record of each person held in the jail. The record must list the person's name, booking date, charges, and release date. Decatur County follows this law. All booking data gets stored in the jail management system and goes back many years.

Decatur County's location near the Florida border means the jail sometimes processes arrests from multi-agency operations. All of these bookings go into the same system and are subject to the same record-keeping rules.

How to Search Booking Releases

To search for Decatur County booking releases, start with the Sheriff's Office. Check their website for an online jail roster. If one is posted, it will show current inmates with names, charges, and booking dates. This is a fast way to see who is currently in the jail.

If the person is not on the roster, call the jail at (229) 248-3022. Give the staff the person's name and any other info you have. They can search the system and let you know the booking status. This works for both current and past bookings.

You can visit the Sheriff's Office at 150 Malcolm Askew Court in Bainbridge during business hours. Staff can check records on the spot. For older records or formal copies, you may need to submit a written open records request.

Georgia law requires the sheriff to keep inmate records, and this statute spells out exactly what must be tracked.

This law sets the record-keeping standard for the Decatur County jail and every other county jail in Georgia.

Open Records for Decatur County Booking Releases

Georgia's Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 gives everyone the right to request booking release records. You can ask for them from Decatur County. The law says no reason is required. Public records are public.

Send your written request to the Decatur County Sheriff's Office at 150 Malcolm Askew Court, Bainbridge, GA 39817. Be specific about the records you want. Include names, dates, and case numbers where possible. The county must respond within three business days. The first 15 minutes of search time is free. After that, copies cost $0.10 per page.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, the county must make records available during normal business hours. If they deny your request, the reason must be in writing. Most booking release data is available without restrictions.

What Booking Releases Show

A Decatur County booking release record contains the inmate's full name, date of birth, physical description, charges, booking date, arresting agency, bond amount, warrant numbers, and release date. All of this gets logged when someone enters the jail and updated when they leave.

Booking photos may be included in the record. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 sets rules for how these photos can be shared. Decatur County follows the state guidelines on booking photograph requests.

Certain records may be restricted. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 lists exemptions from the Open Records Act. Records connected to active investigations, juvenile matters, or sealed court orders may not be available. But standard adult booking and release information is public.

Statewide Booking Release Resources

Beyond Decatur County, state-level tools help with broader searches. The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search covers people serving state sentences. If someone moved from the Decatur County jail to a state prison, use this database to find their records.

The VINE notification system is free and covers all Georgia counties. You can track an inmate's custody status and get alerts when they are released. Register by phone or online. It works day and night.

State-level open records portals from the GDC and the GBI handle requests that involve state agencies. Use these when you need records that go beyond a single county.

Cities in Decatur County

Decatur County includes Bainbridge, Climax, and Brinson. None of these communities are large enough for separate pages. All booking releases in the county go through the Decatur County Sheriff's Office.

Nearby Counties

If you need booking releases from areas around Decatur County, check these neighboring counties. Each has its own jail system.