Heard County Booking Release Records

Heard County booking releases are managed by the Heard County Sheriff's Office, headquartered in Franklin. This small, rural county in western Georgia maintains jail records for every person booked into the county detention facility. The sheriff is the primary law enforcement authority and oversees all jail operations including intake, custody, and release. Booking release records are public under Georgia law and available through the sheriff's office upon request.

Sheriff and Jail Records

The Heard County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail in Franklin and keeps records of every booking and release. The jail is a small facility that serves the entire county. When someone is arrested by any law enforcement agency in Heard County, that person is brought to this jail for booking. The staff create a record with the person's name, charges, arresting agency, and the date and time of booking.

Under O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7, the jailer must keep a record of every person confined in the facility. This includes the name, the offense, who committed them, and when they came in and when they left. Heard County follows this law. The records stay in the system even after the person has been released, so you can look up past bookings as well as current ones.

Heard County has a small population, so the jail volume is lower than in larger counties. But the same rules apply. Every booking gets a record. Every release gets documented. The sheriff's office is the only place to get these records for Heard County.

Searching for Booking Releases

To find Heard County booking releases, contact the sheriff's office in Franklin. A phone call is the fastest way to check on someone. Staff can look up current inmates and tell you basic info like charges, booking date, and whether the person has been released. For recent bookings, this usually gets you what you need right away.

Heard County is small enough that it may not have a web-based inmate lookup tool. Many rural Georgia counties rely on phone and in-person requests rather than online systems. If no online search is available, calling or visiting the jail are your options. Check the sheriff's website first to see if they have added any tools.

For older records, write to the sheriff's office. Put the person's name and any other details in your request. A date range helps narrow the search. The staff will look through their system and let you know what they find. You can mail the request or hand deliver it during business hours.

The VINE system tracks inmate status changes across all Georgia counties, including Heard County.

Register on VINE to get free alerts when an inmate's custody status changes in Heard County.

Open Records for Heard County Booking Releases

The Georgia Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 makes booking releases available to anyone who asks. These records are held by a public agency, so the law covers them. The Heard County Sheriff's Office must respond to your request within three business days.

The first 15 minutes of search and retrieval are free. After that, the office can charge for staff time. Copies cost $0.10 per page. In a small county like Heard, most individual requests are quick and do not cost much. If you need a large set of records, the cost can go up, so ask for an estimate before the office starts the work.

Write your request clearly. Name the person, give any dates you know, and state what records you want. Send it to the Heard County Sheriff's Office. You should hear back within three business days.

Details in the Records

Heard County booking release records contain the inmate's full name, date of birth, physical description, all charges, the arresting agency, the booking date and time, and the release date and time. The method of release is also included. It could be bond, time served, transfer to another facility, or charges being dropped.

Booking photos are part of the arrest record in some cases. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 governs how booking photographs can be shared publicly. Heard County follows these state guidelines. The law includes restrictions that limit the release of certain photos depending on the outcome of the case.

Not all booking records are fully available. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, certain records are exempt from the Open Records Act. Active criminal investigations, sealed court proceedings, and juvenile cases are among the reasons a record might be withheld. The sheriff's office will tell you if any part of your request hits an exemption.

State-Level Booking Release Tools

Several state tools can help when Heard County records are not enough. The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search lets you look up anyone in state prison. This covers people who were first booked in Heard County and later sent to a state facility.

The VINE notification system works for Heard County and every other county in Georgia. It is free and available all the time. For state records, the GDC Open Records portal and the GBI Open Records portal handle requests for data from the Department of Corrections and the Bureau of Investigation.

Nearby Counties

Heard County is surrounded by these counties, each with its own jail and booking release records. Make sure you search the county where the arrest was made.