Access Lamar County Booking Releases

Lamar County booking releases come from the Lamar County Sheriff's Office in Barnesville. The county is in central Georgia, roughly midway between Atlanta and Macon along Interstate 75. The sheriff manages the county jail and keeps records of all bookings and releases that occur there. These records are public documents under Georgia law, and anyone can request them by contacting the sheriff's office or filing an open records request.

Sheriff and Jail Records

The Lamar County Sheriff's Office operates the county jail in Barnesville and keeps records of every booking and release. The sheriff is the county's top law enforcement official and oversees all jail operations. When someone is arrested in Lamar County, they are brought to the jail where staff process the booking. The person's name, charges, arresting agency, and booking date and time are all recorded.

Georgia law mandates this record keeping. O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7 requires the jailer to maintain a record of every person confined in the jail. The record must show the inmate's name, the charge, the committing authority, and the dates of confinement and discharge. Lamar County complies with this statute for every person who passes through the jail.

The jail receives inmates from the Lamar County Sheriff's Office, the Barnesville Police Department, the Milner Police Department, and state agencies. All bookings feed into the same system, so the sheriff's office is the single source for booking release data in the county.

How to Find Records

The quickest way to check on someone in the Lamar County Jail is to call the sheriff's office. Staff can look up current inmates and tell you basic info like charges, booking date, and whether the person has been released. A phone call gets fast answers for recent bookings.

Lamar County is a mid-size county and may have some online inmate search options. Check the sheriff's website for any tools. If no online portal exists, phone and written requests are the alternatives. You can also visit the jail in Barnesville during business hours.

For older records, file a written request. Include the person's full name, date of birth, and an approximate date for the booking. Send your request to the Lamar County Sheriff's Office in Barnesville. Staff will search the system and let you know what they found and the cost for copies.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association keeps a directory of all county sheriff offices in the state.

This directory can help you find contact information for the Lamar County Sheriff's Office and jails in neighboring counties.

Open Records Process

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, Georgia's Open Records Act requires government agencies to make their records available to the public. Booking releases are public records. The Lamar County Sheriff's Office has three business days to respond to your request.

The first 15 minutes of staff search time are free. After that, the county can charge for the time spent at a reasonable rate. Copies are $0.10 per page. Most single-record requests are quick and inexpensive. If you need records for multiple people or a wide date range, the cost goes up. The office will tell you the estimated cost before starting.

Be specific when writing your request. Name the person, provide identifying details, and give a date range. Clear, focused requests get faster results. You can send your request by mail, email, or deliver it in person to the sheriff's office in Barnesville.

What Booking Releases Contain

Lamar County booking release records include the person's full name, date of birth, physical description, charges, arresting agency, booking date and time, release date and time, and the release method. Common release types are bond, time served, transfer to another facility, and dismissal of charges. The record provides a complete picture of the person's time in custody.

Booking photographs may be part of the record. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 sets rules for how booking photos can be shared publicly. Lamar County follows these state guidelines. The law places some restrictions depending on the case outcome.

Not everything is public. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 lists exemptions to the Open Records Act. Active investigations, sealed court proceedings, and juvenile matters are among the reasons a record might be withheld. The Lamar County Sheriff's Office will let you know if any exemptions apply to the records you asked for.

State Booking Release Resources

State databases supplement Lamar County records. The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search covers everyone in the state prison system. If someone was booked in Lamar County and later transferred to state custody, this is where you would find their current status.

The VINE notification system works for Lamar County and every other county in Georgia. It is free and available all the time. Register to get alerts when an inmate is released or transferred. The GDC Open Records portal and the GBI Open Records portal handle state-level record requests for data that goes beyond what the county holds.

Nearby Counties

Lamar County borders these counties, each of which runs its own jail and maintains separate booking release records. Search the county where the arrest was made for the right records.