Access Stockbridge Criminal History

Criminal history records in Stockbridge come from the Stockbridge Police Department and the Henry County court system. Stockbridge is in Henry County, south of Atlanta, with a population near 36,000. The city police department handles arrests and keeps reports for crimes that happen in city limits. Criminal court cases go through the Henry County Superior Court. State-level tools from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation also cover Stockbridge cases and let you search for felony convictions. Getting a full criminal history from this area often means checking both local police and county court records, since the two systems track different parts of the same case.

Stockbridge Police Department Criminal Records

The Stockbridge Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the city. The department is at 4640 North Henry Boulevard, Stockbridge, GA 30281. Their phone number is (770) 389-9400. The SPD handles arrests, incident reports, and crime data for events inside Stockbridge city limits. An arrest report is the first record created when someone gets picked up by Stockbridge police. It lists the charges, the date, the location, and the arresting officer.

Stockbridge PD reports arrest data to the Georgia Crime Information Center as required by state law. This feeds the statewide criminal history database. A Stockbridge arrest will show up in GCIC searches as well as the local records the department keeps. To get a copy of a police report from a Stockbridge case, contact the department's records section. You can call ahead or visit the North Henry Boulevard office during business hours to make your request.

The Stockbridge PD covers the city proper. Areas of Henry County outside Stockbridge city limits fall under the Henry County Police Department. If you are not sure which agency handled a case, it helps to know whether the incident happened inside or outside city limits. Both agencies send data to the same state system, but local records are kept separately.

The department has grown in recent years as Stockbridge has expanded. More people and more calls mean more records. The SPD keeps its own filing system for local cases, and requests go through their records unit.

Henry County Handles Stockbridge Court Records

Stockbridge is in Henry County. Criminal cases from Stockbridge are heard in the Henry County court system. The Superior Court Clerk handles records for felonies and serious misdemeanors. The Henry County Courthouse is in McDonough, the county seat. Case files held by the clerk include charges, plea details, trial outcomes, and sentencing information.

Henry County's Magistrate Court deals with preliminary hearings and certain lower-level offenses. Cases that start there can get bound over to superior court if the charges warrant it. So a single case might show up in both courts. To get the whole story, you may need to check records at each level.

Henry County has an online portal for searching court records. You can look up cases by name from any computer. The online tool gives basic details about the case. For certified copies, you still need to go through the clerk's office in McDonough or send a written request. There is a fee for certified documents. The Henry County criminal history page has more details on the clerk, the sheriff, and other county resources.

State Criminal History Tools

The Georgia Felon Search is a state-run database. It checks GCIC records for felony convictions across Georgia. The fee is $15 per search. You need a first name, last name, date of birth, and sex. Results are returned quickly. The fee is charged whether or not anything comes back. Stockbridge cases are included along with every other jurisdiction in the state.

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search costs nothing. It shows people currently in a state prison or on state supervision. If someone convicted in a Stockbridge case is now in a GDC facility, they will appear here. People in the Henry County Jail or those who have already completed their sentence will not be listed.

The GBI FAQ page has answers to common questions about criminal history records in Georgia. It walks through the process for requesting your own record and how third parties can search. The GBI also provides fingerprint-based checks, which are the most complete way to get an official copy of your criminal history.

Record Restriction for Stockbridge Cases

Georgia calls it record restriction, not expungement. A restricted record is sealed from public access. Law enforcement can still see it. But it drops out of standard public searches.

Dismissed charges can qualify for restriction. People who completed pretrial diversion may apply. First Offender cases are eligible too. The First Offender Act, under O.C.G.A. Section 42-8-60, lets first-time offenders serve their sentence and get discharged by the court without a formal conviction. After discharge, the record is restricted from public view.

The rules are spelled out in O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-37. For arrests after July 1, 2013, you start by contacting the prosecuting attorney. For older arrests, go through the arresting agency. In Stockbridge, that is the Stockbridge Police Department. The petition goes to the court that handled the original case.

A retroactive First Offender petition is also possible. If a person was not sentenced under that act but met the criteria, they can go back and ask the court to apply it. If granted, the conviction comes off the public record.

Ways to Search Stockbridge Criminal History

Finding criminal history from Stockbridge depends on what kind of record you are after. Here are the main options.

• Call the Stockbridge Police Department at (770) 389-9400 for arrest and incident reports
• Visit the Henry County Superior Court Clerk in McDonough for court case records
• Use the Georgia Felon Search for statewide felony conviction data
• Check the GDC offender search for people in state prisons
• Submit an open records request to the Stockbridge PD for police documents

Police records cover arrest details and what happened at the scene. Court records from Henry County track the charges, pleas, and case outcome. State tools fill in felony conviction data and corrections information. Checking all three gives you the most complete picture. If a case happened outside Stockbridge city limits but still in Henry County, the Henry County Police Department would hold the local records instead.

Open Records Requests in Stockbridge

Georgia's Open Records Act lets you request public documents from government offices. This includes police records from the Stockbridge Police Department. You can ask for incident reports, arrest reports, and other documents related to criminal cases in the city.

There are fees for copies. The city can charge for staff time and copying costs. Under the law, agencies must respond within three business days. That initial response might just confirm they got the request. Simple requests usually come back quicker than complicated ones.

Some records are exempt. Active investigations may be withheld until the case is done. Records restricted by court order or state law will not be released. If a criminal history has been restricted under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-37, it cannot be obtained through an open records request.

Nearby Cities With Criminal Records

Stockbridge is near other cities in the southern metro Atlanta area. Each city has its own police force and handles local arrests separately. Those records feed into the state system through the GCIC. If you need criminal history from a nearby city, the page below covers local resources and how to search.