Rome Criminal History Records

Criminal history records in Rome are kept by the Rome Police Department and the Floyd County court system. Rome sits in Floyd County in northwest Georgia with a population just under 39,000 people. The Rome PD handles arrest reports and incident data for crimes inside city limits, while court records flow through Floyd County Superior Court. State databases run by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation also hold criminal data tied to Rome cases. If you need to look up a criminal record from Rome, you may have to check more than one source since arrests, court filings, and corrections data are stored in different places.

Rome Police Department Criminal Records

The Rome Police Department is the main law enforcement agency for the city. Their office is at 5 Government Plaza, Rome, GA 30161. You can call them at (706) 238-5111. The Rome PD keeps arrest reports, incident reports, and other law enforcement records for crimes that take place within city limits. These are the first records made when a person gets arrested in Rome. They show the date, time, charges, and the name of the officer who made the arrest.

Rome PD records feed into the state system. Under Georgia law, the department sends arrest data to the Georgia Crime Information Center, which is run by the GBI. That means an arrest in Rome shows up in GCIC searches along with local records. If you need a copy of a police report from a Rome case, you go through the department's records unit at the Government Plaza location.

Keep in mind that Rome PD records only cover crimes inside city limits. Areas outside the city but still in Floyd County are handled by the Floyd County Sheriff's Office or the Georgia State Patrol. If you are not sure where something took place, check both the city and county systems to be safe.

Floyd County Court Records for Rome

Rome is the county seat of Floyd County. All criminal court cases from Rome go through the Floyd County court system. The Superior Court Clerk keeps case files for felonies and serious crimes. This office has the charges, plea information, trial results, and sentencing details for criminal cases. The Floyd County Courthouse is right in Rome, which makes it easy to do in-person searches.

The county clerk charges a fee for certified copies of court records. Walk-in requests are handled at the courthouse during business hours. Floyd County also has a Magistrate Court that deals with warrants, preliminary hearings, and some misdemeanor cases. If the case you are looking for was a minor charge, it may be in the Magistrate Court system rather than Superior Court.

For more on how to search Floyd County records, the Floyd County criminal history page has details on the clerk's office, sheriff, and other local tools. The county handles all court-level criminal records for Rome since cities in Georgia do not run their own court systems for felonies.

State Criminal History Tools

The Georgia Felon Search is a state-run tool that checks the GCIC database for felony convictions. It costs $15 per search. You need a first name, last name, date of birth, and sex. Results come back fast. The fee applies even if the search turns up nothing. This tool covers all of Georgia, so it includes Rome cases.

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search is free to use. It shows people who are in state prison right now. Someone convicted in Rome and sent to a GDC facility will show up here. The GDC search does not cover people held in the Floyd County Jail or those who have finished their sentence and been released.

The GBI FAQ page answers common questions about getting criminal history records in Georgia. It lays out the steps for personal record requests and third-party searches. The GBI also runs a fingerprint-based criminal history check. That is the most thorough way to get an official copy of your own criminal record.

Record Restriction for Rome Cases

Georgia does not use the term expungement. The state calls it record restriction. When a record gets restricted, it is sealed from public view. Law enforcement can still see it. But it will not show up in a public search.

There are a few situations that can lead to record restriction for Rome cases. Charges that were dropped or dismissed may qualify. People who went through a pretrial diversion program and completed it can apply. First Offender cases also fall into this group. The First Offender Act, found in O.C.G.A. Section 42-8-60, lets certain first-time offenders serve their sentence without a formal conviction on their record. Once the sentence is done, the court can discharge them and the record gets restricted.

The full rules for record restriction are in O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-37. For arrests after July 1, 2013, the process starts by contacting the prosecuting attorney. For older arrests, you go through the arresting agency. In Rome, that would be the Rome Police Department or the Floyd County district attorney, depending on the situation.

There is also a retroactive First Offender option. If someone should have been sentenced under the First Offender Act but was not, they can petition the court for that status after the fact. This can lead to a conviction being removed from public criminal history records. The Floyd County Superior Court handles these petitions for Rome cases.

Finding Criminal History in Rome

Several paths exist to find criminal history tied to Rome. The right path depends on the type of record you need and how far back you need to go.

• Call the Rome Police Department at (706) 238-5111 for arrest and incident reports
• Visit the Floyd County Superior Court Clerk at the Floyd County Courthouse for court case records
• Use the Georgia Felon Search for statewide felony conviction data
• Check the GDC offender search for people in state prisons
• Contact the Floyd County Sheriff for jail and booking records

Police records show arrest details and what happened. Court records from Floyd County show charges, pleas, and case outcomes. State tools add felony convictions and corrections data. You may need to check more than one source if you want a full picture. The Rome Municipal Court handles city ordinance violations and some minor offenses, so check there too if the case was a small charge.

Open Records Requests

Georgia's Open Records Act gives people the right to ask for public documents from government agencies. That includes criminal records held by the Rome Police Department. You can submit a request to the city for police reports, arrest records, and other law enforcement documents. The city can charge for the time it takes to find the records and the cost of copies.

Response times vary quite a bit. Simple requests might come back in a few days. Bigger requests take longer. The Open Records Act says agencies must respond within three business days. But that first response might just be a note saying they got the request and need more time. Some records are exempt from disclosure. Ongoing cases, for instance, may be held back until the investigation wraps up.

Nearby Cities With Criminal Records

Rome is in northwest Georgia near a few other cities that have their own police departments and criminal records. Each city handles local arrests, and those records feed into the state system through the GCIC. If you need criminal history from a nearby city, these pages cover local resources.