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  1. Paulding County Court
  2. Paulding County Arrest Records

Paulding County, Georgia Arrest Records

For residents of Paulding County, Georgia, arrest records serve as an official document created by law enforcement when a person is taken into custody, detained, or charged with a crime, regardless of whether it leads to a conviction. Arrest records are regulated by the Georgia Open Records Act. The Act stipulates the conditions for release and withholding in line with the state's transparency and accountability policy.

In many Paulding County jurisdictions, the Paulding County Sheriff's Office serves as the primary law enforcement agency, overseeing the unincorporated areas, and providing 24 hours patrol, emergency response, and criminal investigation across the county. Local Police departments, such as the Dallas Police Department and the Hiram Police Department, may also handle dispatch and law enforcement operations within the specific city limits.

Are Arrest Records Public Information in Houston, Georgia?

Access to arrest records in Paulding County, Georgia, is governed by the state of Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.). The Act stipulates that records maintained by public agencies within Georgia are public records.

Consequently, anyone can submit a request to inspect or copy specific records, and custodians are required to respond within 3 business days of the request submission. If a record is exempt from public disclosure, custodians must cite the exact code, section, and subsection authorizing its retention.

What Do Public Paulding County Arrest Records Contain?

A Paulding County arrest record typically contains the following details:

  • The name of the arrested person
  • Personal identifiers such as race, age, and height
  • The date, time, and place of arrest
  • The charge
  • Crime class
  • The arresting agency
  • Dispositions or sentences arising from the charge
  • Arrest date
  • Release date

Certain details or entire records may be exempt from public disclosure under state law. Some common examples include:

  • The identity of an informant;
  • The photograph of the arrestee of available
  • Misdemeanors;
  • Confidential investigation or prosecution materials likely to endanger the life or physical safety of any person or persons; or
  • The existence of a confidential surveillance or investigation.
  • Sealed or expunged record

Paulding County, Georgia Arrest Search

To find Paulding County arrest records at the state level, individuals can utilize the Find an Offender database provided by the state of Georgia. This state offender query tool can help searchers find individuals who have been convicted and transferred to a state prison facility after an arrest. Individuals can search for specific arrest information by name, age, or GDC ID number.

Where the person is in violation of a federal law, the attendant arrests may be carried out by federal law enforcement agencies such as the (Federal Bureau of Investigation). Records of individuals arrested pursuant federal law may be found on the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) System. The online search tool can help searchers find the criminal case files, which typically include arrests and final dispositions, of detainees who are being held in federal custody. Registered users can use this online tool to search for criminal case files resulting from federal arrest by name or case number for a fee.

If the arrestee has been prosecuted and convicted, searchers may resort to the Bureau of Prison BOP Inmate Locator tool. The online tool allows individuals to conduct searches for inmates by name or the case file number.

Paulding County Inmate Locator

At the county level, the Records Division of the Paulding County Sheriff's Office maintains arrest and incarceration records, including fingerprints, photographs and court documents for inmates housed in the Paulding County Jail. The division also handles dissemination of record data, photographs, and patrol videos mandated by the State of Georgia

If an individual requires information under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A.50-18-70) and other legal statutes, they can submit a request to the division for publicly maintained information. The Records Division manages all legal documents involving the agency and can make case reports available for the public to access in 3 to 5 business days. There are certain laws by the State of Georgia that will inhibit the release of certain case reports due to certain statutes of the State of Georgia.

Records Division

Email

Physical Address

180 Constitution Boulevard

Dallas, GA 30132

Phone: (770) 443-3010

Fax: (770) 505-5524

Hours

Monday - Friday

8:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Some arrest information can also be obtained online through the Paulding County Sheriff Inmate Inquiry. The Inmate Inquiry system allows individuals to look up inmates by name or subject number.

How to Find Arrest Records for Free in Paulding County

One way to find records pertaining to an individual's arrest for free in Paulding County is to look it up on the Paulding County Sheriff Inmate Inquiry tool. While some sensitive data may be redacted subject to the applicable law, the Inmate Inquiry system allows searchers to find some arrest and inmate-related information by name or subject number without the need to pay fees. Because the Inmate Inquiry tool is used to search for inmates currently held at the Paulding County Detention Center, older records may also not reflect on the inmate's database. Additionally, an inmate will typically not appear in this database once they have been released.

Paulding County Arrest Report

Paulding County arrest record is an official document created by law enforcement when a person is taken into custody, detained, or charged with a crime, regardless of whether it leads to conviction. Most Paulding County arrest records are constituted by concise entries such as the suspect's name, the charge, the booking information, the arrest date, time, and location, bond amount, fingerprint and mugshot (redacted), and other relevant details. Because entries entered in these records are concise, they typically do not provide context to the arrest information depicted, and only exist to show that an individual was once arrested, detained, and put in law enforcement custody.

Unlike an arrest record, an arrest report is a document prepared by an arresting officer that describes the circumstances surrounding an arrest, which includes the set of facts supporting probable cause, the date, time and location of arrest, alleged offense, arresting agency, and other relevant details. Paulding County arrest reports typically form part of the internal files of law enforcement and may be used in the investigation and subsequent prosecuting of an alleged offense. Although the complete reports are often not public, the applicable state law may allow individuals to see certain details, subject to exemptions permitted by state law.

Nevertheless, unless a conviction is entered, neither records are indicative of an individual's guilt, and individuals are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

How to Get an Arrest Record Expunged in Paulding County

In Georgia, an arrest or conviction record can be purged from an individual's criminal background history through a process known as "Records Restriction". While "expungement" in most jurisdiction refers to a term that allows an arrest or conviction to be completely erased from a person's criminal background, the Records Restriction program restricts the record from public disclosure, allowing only specified entities, such the person on record, authorized law enforcement, and the court to access it.

In Paulding County, arrests occurring prior to July 1st 2013, may be removed by applying for records restriction at the arresting agency. The individual will need to go along with their picture ID, social security number, and driver's license number and follow this process:

  • Download and complete the Request to Restrict Arrest Record form from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).
  • Mail the completed form to the arresting agency-the Sheriff's Office or the relevant police department. They will complete section 2 and forward the entire form to the prosecuting attorney
  • The Paulding County District Attorney's Office will review and send a notification of their decision via mail to the applicant. Note that each form covers one arrest date, and only the charges filed pursuant to that arrest are allowed.
  • If approved, the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) will update the record to reflect its restricted status, and notify the applicant.
  • If the prosecuting attorney cannot update the record electronically, the applicant may have to complete the process manually. They would have to take the completed application to the arresting agency.
  • Applicants may be advised to send the approved Request to Restrict Arrest Record form and $25.00 fee (money order or certified check payable to "Georgia Bureau of Investigation") to:

Georgia Crime Information Center

Record Restrictions

P.O. Box 370808 Decatur

Georgia 30037-0808

The applicant may review Georgia Law O.C.G.A. 35-3-37 to see if their case qualifies for an expungement. If the arrest occurred prior to July 1st 2013, the arresting agency is solely responsible for processing the records restriction request. The prosecutor may approve the restriction at the time of sentencing. If restriction is approved upon sentence completion, it should be noted in the sentencing documentation forwarded to the court.

How Do You Remove Paulding County Arrest Records From the Internet?

When the restriction has been applied to the Georgia criminal history, access to that specific arrest cycle is restricted for non-criminal justice purposes only (Employment/Licensing). However, such information may be available through other sources. The Paulding County Sheriff's Office has no control over information provided by private vendors. For such cases, affected persons may need to contact the private vendor to clear their information from that company's database

For records published on private websites, a different process applies as these sites are not automatically bound by the expungement or sealing order. Consequently, individuals seeking removal of an arrest record from the internet will need to follow the relevant websites procedure. Most websites have an "opt out option" that the public can use to remove records from the internet.