Find Criminal History in Chatham County

Chatham County criminal history records are held by a few offices in the Savannah area, and each one keeps a different part of the picture. The Superior Court Clerk at 133 Montgomery Street stores all felony and misdemeanor case files that move through the county court system. The Chatham County Sheriff runs a jail with an online inmate search tool, and the county police department keeps its own arrest and incident data. If you want to search for criminal history tied to Chatham County, you can start at the clerk's office or use state tools run by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Getting a full record may take more than one search since no single source holds all of it.

Chatham County Criminal Records at the Clerk's Office

The Chatham County Superior Court Clerk is the main source for criminal case records in this part of Georgia. The office is at 133 Montgomery Street in Savannah, GA 31401. You can call them at (912) 652-7200. The clerk keeps files on all criminal cases heard in Chatham County Superior Court. This covers felony charges, certain misdemeanor matters, and appeals that come up from lower courts. Each case file has the charges, court dates, pleas, and the final result. Walk-in requests are handled during business hours at the Montgomery Street location. If you need a certified copy of a criminal history document from Chatham County, the clerk's office will charge a per-page fee for that service.

The Chatham County Superior Court Clerk website provides details on how to access criminal case records and other court filings in the county system.

Once you find a case in the system, the record will show the charges that were filed, any motions from either side, and the judge on the case. The system does not display records that have been sealed or restricted under Georgia law. If a case has been restricted under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-37, it will not show up in a public search. Only law enforcement and a few other agencies can still view those files. People who want to check the status of a Chatham County criminal case should start here since the clerk holds the most complete court records in the county.

Chatham County Sheriff and Criminal History

The Chatham County Sheriff's Office is at 1050 Carl Griffin Drive in Savannah, GA 31405. Their main phone line is (912) 652-7700. The sheriff runs the county jail and handles inmate records for all of Chatham County. One useful thing about this office is the online inmate search. You can look up who is currently in the jail, see booking dates, charges at the time of arrest, and bond amounts. Jail booking records are part of the criminal history system. They show when someone was brought in and what they were charged with at that point.

The Chatham County Police Department keeps its own set of records too. Their office is at 295 Police Memorial Drive in Savannah, GA 31406. You can reach them at (912) 651-6675. Police records include incident reports, arrest reports, and calls for service in parts of Chatham County that are not inside a city with its own force. These records get sent to the state criminal history database run by the Georgia Crime Information Center. Under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-34, local agencies like the Chatham County Police Department must report criminal history data to the GCIC so it can be part of the statewide system. That means an arrest in Chatham County shows up in state-level searches as well.

Note: The online inmate search at the Chatham County Sheriff's Office is updated as bookings happen, but new entries may take a short time to appear.

Criminal Record Restriction in Chatham County

Georgia uses the term "record restriction" instead of expungement for most cases. When a criminal history record gets restricted in Chatham County, it is sealed from public view. The record still exists for law enforcement to access, but it will not come up in a standard public search. The rules for who can apply are set at the state level and apply the same way in Chatham County as they do in any other part of Georgia.

Several groups may be able to get their Chatham County criminal history restricted. If you were arrested in Chatham County and the charges were dropped or dismissed, you could qualify. Certain misdemeanor offenders under 21 can apply as well. People who went through a pretrial diversion program in Chatham County and finished it are also eligible. First Offender cases that get sealed under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-37 fall into this category too. There is a retroactive First Offender option for people who should have been sentenced under the act but were not at the time. The First Offender Act itself is found in O.C.G.A. Section 42-8-60. When a first-time offender in Chatham County completes their sentence under this act, the court discharges them without a formal conviction on their record. The case then gets restricted from public criminal history searches.

For arrests that took place on or after July 1, 2013, the process starts by contacting the prosecuting attorney who handled the case. For older arrests, you go through the arresting agency instead. The GBI restrictions page lays out the full process and eligibility rules for record restriction in Georgia, and these rules apply directly to Chatham County cases.

State Criminal History Tools for Chatham County

Beyond the local offices, there are state tools that can pull up Chatham County criminal history. The Georgia Felon Search is one of them. It costs $15 per search and checks the GCIC database for felony convictions across the whole state, including Chatham County. You need a first name, last name, date of birth, and sex to run a search. Results come back fast. The $15 fee applies even if the search turns up no record.

The Georgia Felon Search service page shows how to run a statewide felony background check that includes Chatham County criminal history records.

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search is free to use. It shows people who are currently in a GDC state prison. This can include people convicted in Chatham County who are now serving time at a facility somewhere else in Georgia. The GDC search does not cover people sitting in the Chatham County Jail or those who have already served their full sentence. For more details on how to request criminal history records in Georgia, the GBI FAQ page answers common questions about the process and how it works for both individuals and agencies.

How to Search Chatham County Criminal History

There are a few ways to search for criminal history records in Chatham County. The right path depends on what kind of record you need and how fast you need it. Some options are free while others cost a small fee.

• Visit the Chatham County Superior Court Clerk at 133 Montgomery Street in Savannah for court case records and certified copies
• Use the Chatham County Sheriff's online inmate search to check current jail bookings
• Call the Chatham County Police Department at (912) 651-6675 for police and arrest reports
• Run a Georgia Felon Search for statewide felony records that include Chatham County
• Check the GDC offender query to find people serving time in state prisons

Each of these sources covers a different part of the criminal history system in Chatham County. Court records from the clerk show charges, plea deals, and case results. The sheriff's office tracks jail bookings and bond status. Police records have arrest details and incident reports from the field. State tools add felony conviction data and corrections information on top of what the local offices hold. You may need to check more than one source to put together a full picture of someone's criminal history in Chatham County. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also lets you request a formal criminal history report for yourself through a fingerprint-based process, which is the most thorough option if you need an official copy of your own record.

Criminal History in Chatham County Cities

Chatham County includes Savannah and several smaller cities along the Georgia coast. Savannah is the county seat and by far the largest city in the county with a population close to 149,000. Pooler sits just west of Savannah and has grown fast in recent years. Both cities have their own police departments that handle local arrests. Those arrest records feed into the state criminal history system through the GCIC. If you need criminal record information tied to a specific city in Chatham County, you can start with that city's police department or use the county and state resources listed on this page.

Nearby Counties With Criminal Records

Chatham County borders several other Georgia counties along the coast and inland. Criminal cases near the county line can sometimes end up in a neighboring jurisdiction. If you do not find what you need in the Chatham County system, these nearby counties may have the record you are looking for.