Charlton County 24 Hour Booking

Charlton County 24 hour booking records list every arrest processed at the county jail in Folkston. The Charlton County Sheriff's Office handles all jail bookings for this rural south Georgia county near the Okefenokee Swamp. If you want to find out who was booked in the past day, the sheriff's office is the place to start. Booking data covers names, charges, bond info, and arrest dates for each person brought in. You can call the Charlton County jail or submit an open records request to get the details you need about recent arrests in this area.

Charlton County Sheriff 24 Hour Booking Office

The Charlton County Sheriff's Office is the sole law enforcement agency that runs the county jail in Folkston. All arrests in Charlton County, whether made by deputies or city police, end up at this facility for booking. The jail operates around the clock. Staff process new inmates at any hour, record their information, and log the booking in the system. This is how 24 hour booking records get created in Charlton County.

You can reach the sheriff's office at (912) 496-7322. The jail is at 1548 3rd Street, Folkston, GA 31537. During business hours, staff can answer questions about recent bookings or tell you if someone is in custody. After hours, the jail still takes calls since the facility never shuts down. Charlton County is a small jurisdiction, so the volume of bookings tends to be lower than in metro areas. But the same booking process applies to every arrest.

Note: Charlton County does not have a public online inmate search portal, so phone calls and in-person visits are the main ways to check recent bookings.

How 24 Hour Booking Works in Charlton County

When someone is arrested in Charlton County, they are taken to the jail in Folkston. The booking process starts right away. Jail staff collect the person's name, date of birth, address, and other personal details. They record the charges and take a booking photo. The person gets a booking number that stays with their file for the life of the case. All of this data goes into the Charlton County booking log.

Bond amounts get set based on the charges. Some offenses have a standard bond schedule. Others need a judge to set bond, which can mean the person waits in the Charlton County jail until a hearing. Once bond is posted, the person can leave, but the booking record stays on file. That record is a public document under Georgia law. It does not go away when someone bonds out or gets released from the Charlton County jail.

The whole booking process takes time. Busy nights can slow things down. A simple arrest might take an hour or two to fully process. More complex cases with multiple charges take longer. Either way, the 24 hour booking record for Charlton County captures the core details of each arrest as it happens.

Charlton County Booking Open Records

Georgia's Open Records Act gives you the right to see booking records from the Charlton County jail. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, booking records are public documents. Anyone can request them. You do not need to explain why you want them. The Charlton County Sheriff's Office must respond to your request within three business days per O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71.

There are fees that may apply. The first 15 minutes of search time are free. After that, the agency can charge the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee who can do the work. Copies cost about $0.10 per page. If the total goes over $500, the Charlton County Sheriff's Office may ask you to pay up front before they start pulling records. Most single booking record requests cost little or nothing.

Some details get redacted before Charlton County releases booking records. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, social security numbers, bank account numbers, cell phone numbers, and certain medical info must be blacked out. But the arrest itself, the charges, and the booking details stay visible. Initial arrest reports remain public even when there is an active investigation going on in Charlton County.

Georgia Booking Resources for Charlton County

The Charlton County jail holds people before trial or while they wait for transfer. Once someone is sentenced to state prison, they leave the county jail and enter the Georgia Department of Corrections system. You can search for state inmates through the GDC Find Offender tool. That database only covers state facilities, not the Charlton County jail. If you are looking for someone recently booked, the county jail is where you check first.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation maintains criminal history records for the whole state through the Georgia Crime Information Center. A criminal history is more detailed than a single booking record. It shows all arrests, court results, and custody data. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34, you can get another person's criminal history with their signed consent. Felony conviction records are public without consent. For a fingerprint-based background check, the Georgia Applicant Processing Service returns results in 24 to 48 hours.

The GBI Criminal History FAQ page answers common questions about records access in Georgia. It covers what information is in a criminal history, who can see it, and how record restriction works. This applies to Charlton County records and every other county in the state.

Note: The GDC offender search only covers state prisons, not the Charlton County jail or any other county facility in Georgia.

Booking Photo Rules in Charlton County

Booking photos taken at the Charlton County jail fall under strict state rules. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 says law enforcement cannot post booking photos on a website. This law applies to every sheriff's office in Georgia, including Charlton County. The rule exists to stop mugshot websites from profiting off arrest photos.

If you need a booking photo from the Charlton County jail, you have to submit a written statement. That statement must say you will not use the photo in a way that breaks the law. Lying on this statement is a crime under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20. The Charlton County Sheriff's Office checks these requests before handing over any photos.

Charlton County 24 Hour Booking Record Restriction

Not all Charlton County booking records stay public forever. Georgia law allows certain arrest records to be restricted. O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 says if charges were dismissed, not presented to a grand jury, or dropped, you can apply to have the record sealed. The prosecutor has to approve it. Once restricted, the booking record from Charlton County only shows up for judges and criminal justice agencies. Private people and businesses cannot see it.

The First Offender Act under O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60 is another path. If a person was sentenced under this act and finishes their probation or sentence, the record gets sealed on the state database. This covers bookings from Charlton County and everywhere else in Georgia. Guilty pleas that were not under the First Offender Act do not qualify for restriction.

If a mugshot website has your Charlton County booking photo and you qualify for restriction, you can request removal. Under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5, the website must take it down within 30 days of getting your written request. You need to include your name, date of birth, arrest date, and the arresting agency.

Charlton County 24 Hour Booking Record Access

The Georgia Department of Administrative Services provides guidance on open records procedures that apply to all Georgia counties, including Charlton County. Their portal explains fees, response times, and how agencies should handle public records requests across the state.

This state records management page outlines the rules that the Charlton County Sheriff's Office follows when processing requests for booking records and other public documents.

For Charlton County, the most direct path to 24 hour booking data is calling the jail at (912) 496-7322. Written requests can be mailed to the sheriff's office at 1548 3rd Street, Folkston, GA 31537. You can ask for records from a specific date range or for a specific person. The staff will let you know the cost before they start pulling files.

Cities in Charlton County

Folkston is the county seat and largest city in Charlton County. Homeland is the only other incorporated town. All arrests in both towns go through the Charlton County jail in Folkston for booking.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Charlton County. Each one runs its own jail and keeps separate 24 hour booking records. If you are not sure which county handled an arrest, check the location where it happened.