Carroll County Criminal History Search

Carroll County criminal history records are kept by the Superior Court Clerk and the Carroll County Sheriff's Office in Carrollton. The county sits in west Georgia with a population close to 120,000. If you need to look up criminal records in Carroll County, there are a few ways to get that done. The clerk's office on Newnan Street holds court case files. The sheriff's office on Newnan Road keeps arrest and booking data. You can search some records through state tools from home or make a trip to the courthouse in Carrollton to pull what you need.

Carroll County Sheriff and Criminal Records

The Carroll County Sheriff's Office is the main law enforcement agency for the unincorporated parts of the county. Their office is at 1000 Newnan Road, Carrollton, GA 30116. You can call them at (770) 830-5888. The sheriff runs the county jail and handles patrol, investigations, and court security for Carroll County. When someone gets arrested by a sheriff's deputy, the arrest goes on record with the person's name, charges, date, and the deputy who made the arrest. That data then feeds into the state criminal history system through the Georgia Crime Information Center.

The Carroll County Sheriff's Office website shows how to reach the records division and what services are open to the public for criminal history requests in the county.

Jail booking records are a key part of the Carroll County criminal history picture. Each person booked into the Carroll County Jail gets a record that shows their charges at the time of booking, bond amount, and release status. If you need to check on someone held in the jail, call the sheriff's office for current data. Under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-34, all law enforcement in Georgia must report arrest data to the GCIC. So a Carroll County arrest ends up in the state database too. The sheriff's office can also help with fingerprint-based record checks if you need a copy of your own criminal history.

Note: Jail booking records at the Carroll County Sheriff's Office may take a short time to update after a new arrest is processed.

Criminal Records at Carroll County Clerk

The Carroll County Superior Court Clerk holds case files for criminal matters that move through the county court system. The office is at 323 Newnan Street, Carrollton, GA 30117. Call (770) 830-5830 for questions about records. This is where felony cases and some misdemeanor cases are filed, tracked, and stored in Carroll County. Each case file has the charges, court dates, plea data, the verdict, and the sentence if there was one. If you want to know how a criminal case ended in Carroll County, the clerk's office has that information on file.

The Carroll County Clerk of Courts page has details on how to look up case records and reach the office for criminal history documents in the county.

You can go to the clerk's office in person to search the case index. There is a per-page fee for copies. Certified copies cost more but carry the clerk's seal. Most people who need records for legal use will want the certified version. Under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-37, any person can request their own criminal history record by filing a written request and paying the fee, which is capped at $15 not counting fingerprint costs. The Carroll County clerk works with the Georgia Crime Information Center to pull the full record when a self-request comes in. Some court records from Carroll County may also be available through the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, which runs a statewide database of court filings.

Carroll County Criminal Record Restriction

Georgia uses record restriction, not expungement. A restricted criminal history record in Carroll County gets sealed from public view. It still exists in the system. Law enforcement can still see it. But the public cannot pull it up in a standard search.

Several paths lead to restriction for a Carroll County criminal record. If charges were dropped or the prosecutor chose not to move forward, that record can be restricted. People who went through a pre-trial diversion program in Carroll County and finished it may qualify. For misdemeanors where the case was never sent to the prosecutor, the wait is two years before restriction kicks in. Most felonies take four years. Serious violent felonies need seven years. If the person was found not guilty, the prosecutor gets ten days to object. If they do not, the record gets restricted. People who complete a sentence under the First Offender Act, found at O.C.G.A. Section 42-8-60, can also get their Carroll County record restricted. The First Offender Act lets a judge sentence someone without entering a formal conviction, as long as they finish their sentence with no problems.

For Carroll County arrests on or after July 1, 2013, you go through the Carroll County District Attorney to start the restriction process. Older arrests need contact with the arresting agency first. The GBI FAQ page explains the full process and what situations qualify for restriction across all Georgia counties.

State Tools for Carroll County Records

You do not have to drive to Carrollton to check criminal history tied to Carroll County. Georgia runs state-level search tools that cover all 159 counties. The Georgia Felon Search lets you check the GCIC database for felony convictions. It costs $15 per search. You need the person's first name, last name, date of birth, and sex. Results come back fast. The fee applies even if the search turns up no record. A Carroll County felony conviction would show up through this tool since the data flows from the local court system into the state database.

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search is free. It covers people who are serving time in a state prison right now. If someone was convicted in Carroll County and sent to a GDC facility, they would appear in this search. The GDC tool does not list people held in the Carroll County Jail or those who have already finished their sentence. It is a narrow tool but helpful if you know the person went to state prison after a Carroll County conviction.

The GBI criminal history FAQ page covers common questions about getting records in Georgia. The GBI runs the Georgia Crime Information Center, which stores criminal history data from every county in the state. Carroll County arrest data from the sheriff's office and court outcomes from the clerk both feed into the GCIC system. You can also mail a request to GCIC at P.O. Box 370808, Decatur, Georgia 30037-0808, or call (404) 244-2639 to schedule an appointment at their office.

What Carroll County Criminal Records Show

A criminal history record from Carroll County includes several types of data. It lists the person's name, date of birth, and physical description. Arrest data shows which agency made the arrest, the date, and the charges at the time. Court outcomes are in there too. You can see if a case ended in a conviction, a dismissal, a plea deal, or an acquittal. If the person served time in a Georgia state prison, that also shows up on the record.

Not all criminal history data is open to the public in Carroll County. Restricted records do not appear on public searches. Juvenile records are sealed in most cases under Georgia law. Federal crimes handled by federal courts are not in the state GCIC system. Those stay with federal agencies. Under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-37, the GCIC can share criminal history data with a defendant's attorney upon written request. In civil cases, criminal history is only available with the person's written consent unless the record involves a felony conviction. Carroll County follows these same state rules.

How to Look Up Carroll County Criminal History

There are several ways to get criminal history records in Carroll County. The right path depends on what you need and how fast you want it.

• Visit the Carroll County Superior Court Clerk at 323 Newnan Street in Carrollton for court case records and certified copies
• Call the Carroll County Sheriff at (770) 830-5888 for jail booking records and arrest data
• Use the Georgia Felon Search for statewide felony conviction checks
• Check the GDC offender search for people serving time in state prisons
• Email gacriminalhistory@gbi.state.ga.us for questions about your own criminal history record

Each source covers a different slice of the criminal history picture in Carroll County. The clerk has court case files with charges, pleas, and outcomes. The sheriff has arrest and booking data. State tools add felony convictions and corrections info to the mix. You may need to check more than one source to build a full view of someone's criminal history in the Carroll County area. The county seat of Carrollton is where both the clerk's office and the sheriff's main office are based, which helps if you plan to go in person.

Criminal History in Carroll County Cities

Carroll County has one city. Carrollton is the county seat and the largest city in the county with around 28,306 residents. The Carrollton Police Department handles arrests within city limits, and those arrest records feed into the state criminal history system. Criminal cases from Carrollton go through the Carroll County Superior Court in the county seat. If you are looking for criminal records tied to an arrest in Carrollton, the Carroll County clerk and sheriff are your main contacts.

Nearby Counties With Criminal Records

Carroll County shares borders with several other Georgia counties. Criminal cases near the county line may have been handled by a neighboring jurisdiction. If you cannot find a record in the Carroll County system, one of these nearby counties may have what you are looking for.

Douglas County is to the east and part of the Atlanta metro area. Coweta County sits to the south and shares the same judicial circuit as Carroll County. Haralson and Heard counties border Carroll to the west. Paulding County is to the north. Each has its own court clerk, sheriff, and criminal record system.