Search Albany 24 Hour Booking
Albany 24 hour booking records are maintained by the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office. Albany is the county seat and largest city in Dougherty County in southwest Georgia. With roughly 67,000 residents, Albany has its own police department that handles arrests within city limits. All bookings flow through the Dougherty County Jail. Whether the Albany Police or the Dougherty County Sheriff makes the arrest, the booking record ends up in the same county system. You can search for recent bookings or submit an open records request to get arrest details.
Albany Quick Facts
Albany 24 Hour Booking Police Department
The Albany Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the city. Their main office is at 201 W. Oglethorpe Boulevard, Albany, GA 31701. The phone number is (229) 431-2100. Officers respond to calls, make arrests, and transport people to the Dougherty County Jail. Albany police handle a significant volume of calls given the city's size. Arrests happen at all hours and the jail accepts new bookings around the clock.
The Albany Police Department website has information about the department and its divisions.
The GDC Find Offender tool lets you search for people in state prison. This is separate from the Albany jail. If someone was booked in Albany and later sent to state prison, the GDC tracks them from that point on. For current Albany jail bookings, you need the Dougherty County system instead.
| Department | Albany Police Department |
|---|---|
| Address | 201 W. Oglethorpe Boulevard, Albany, GA 31701 |
| Phone | (229) 431-2100 |
| Website | albanyga.gov/police |
Dougherty County Jail Bookings
The Dougherty County Sheriff runs the jail that processes all Albany arrests. The sheriff's office is at 225 Pine Avenue, Albany, GA 31701. You can call (229) 431-2100 for jail-related questions. When someone is arrested in Albany, they get transported to the Dougherty County Jail. Staff takes a booking photo, collects fingerprints, and logs all charges. This creates the 24 hour booking record that becomes part of the public record.
Bond may be set at the time of booking for lower-level offenses. The jail uses a bond schedule for common charges. More serious Albany arrests require a first appearance hearing where a judge decides bond. Some charges carry no bond at all. Family members looking for someone booked in Albany should call the jail and ask about the person's status and bond amount. You can also ask about visiting hours and how to put money on an inmate's account.
Albany is the county seat, so the jail is right in the city. This means transport times from an Albany arrest to booking are short compared to other parts of the county. The Dougherty County Magistrate Court handles first appearances and bond hearings for people booked through the Albany system.
Note: The Dougherty County Jail accepts bookings 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
How to Access Albany Booking Records
Booking records from Albany arrests are public under Georgia law. The Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, covers all documents held by public agencies. This includes the Albany Police Department and the Dougherty County Sheriff. You can request records from either agency. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, they must respond within three business days. The first 15 minutes of search time are free.
Initial arrest reports from Albany are always public. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 says these reports cannot be withheld even if an investigation is ongoing. The report shows who was arrested, the charges, and basic facts about the event. You do not need to give a reason for your request. Just ask for the record by the person's name or the incident number. Written requests work best for keeping a clear record of what you asked for and when the agency responded.
For records requests that take more than 15 minutes of staff time, the agency can charge based on the lowest paid qualified employee's hourly rate. Copies run about $0.10 per page. If the estimated cost goes over $500, the agency may ask for prepayment before they start looking through Albany records.
Mugshot Rules for Albany Bookings
Booking photos from the Dougherty County Jail follow the same state rules as everywhere else in Georgia. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 prevents law enforcement from posting mugshots online. If you want a copy of a booking photo from an Albany arrest, you must sign a form promising not to post it on a site that charges for removal. This protects people who were booked in Albany from exploitation by third-party mugshot websites.
Georgia also has a removal law. O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5 requires mugshot sites to take down your photo within 30 days of a written request at no charge. Send your name, date of birth, arrest date, and the booking agency. If the site does not comply, file a complaint with the Georgia Department of Law's Consumer Protection Division. This applies to any Albany booking photo that ends up on one of these sites.
Criminal History Beyond Albany 24 Hour Bookings
A single Albany booking record is just one piece of the picture. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation maintains full criminal history records that span all counties and all arrests in the state. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34, you can get your own record at any time. Someone else's record requires their signed consent unless you are looking at felony convictions, which are public.
For fingerprint-based background checks, use the GAPS service online. Results come back in 24 to 48 hours. This is more thorough than a name-based check. It connects to the GBI's Georgia Crime Information Center. People with dismissed charges in Albany may qualify for record restriction under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37. Completed first offender sentences can be sealed through O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60. Sealed records stay hidden from routine background searches.
State Records and Albany
The Georgia Department of Corrections tracks people in state prison. This is not the same as the Dougherty County Jail. If someone was booked in Albany and later sentenced to serve time in a state facility, the GDC has their records from that point forward. Use the GDC Find Offender tool to search for state inmates. The GDC recommends verifying search results through written correspondence at PO Box 1529, Forsyth, GA 31029.
Open records requests to state agencies follow the same O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 rules. The Governor's open records page has guidance on making requests to any Georgia state agency. For Albany-specific records, start with the local police or sheriff. Only go to state agencies when you need statewide criminal history or prison records.
Dougherty County 24 Hour Booking Records
Albany is the county seat of Dougherty County. All arrests in the city are processed at the Dougherty County Jail. The sheriff manages jail operations and records access. For full details on Dougherty County booking procedures, fees, and how to make records requests, visit the county page.