Find Putnam County 24 Hour Booking

Putnam County 24 hour booking records document arrests at the county jail in Eatonton. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office manages the detention facility and processes all bookings. Eatonton is the county seat and sits in the middle of the state near Lake Oconee. The jail operates around the clock. Booking data from Putnam County is public, and anyone can request it through the sheriff's office under Georgia's Open Records Act.

Putnam County Sheriff and 24 Hour Booking

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency for the county. The office is in Eatonton. Call (706) 485-8557 for questions about the jail or booking records. The jail takes in inmates at all hours. Deputies patrol the county, and the Eatonton Police Department covers the city. All arrests end up at the county jail for processing.

When someone is brought to the jail, staff start the booking process. They take down personal info like name, date of birth, and address. Charges are entered. A photo is snapped. Fingerprints go on file. The person gets a booking number. All of this creates the official 24 hour booking record for that arrest. It stays in the system permanently.

Putnam County is not a large county. The population sits around 22,000. Most of it is rural land and Lake Oconee shoreline. Booking volume is lower here than in metro Atlanta, but the rules are identical. Every arrest gets a record. Every record is public.

Requesting Putnam County Booking Data

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, booking records from the Putnam County jail are open to the public. You can request them by phone for basic details or in writing for formal copies. The sheriff's office must respond within three business days per O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71. No reason is needed for the request.

Fees stay low for simple requests. The first 15 minutes of staff time are free. After that, the hourly rate of the lowest-paid staffer who can do the work applies. Copies are about $0.10 each. If you want just one booking record from Putnam County, expect to pay very little. Requests that would cost over $500 may require prepayment.

Personal data like social security numbers, bank details, and cell phone numbers must be removed from records before release under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72. The arrest charges, booking date, bond amount, and arresting agency all remain visible in Putnam County records.

Putnam County Bond and Court

Bond works the same way in Putnam County as it does across Georgia. Misdemeanor arrests often have a preset bond. The person pays and gets released. Felony cases usually require a judge to set bond at a hearing. Putnam County is in the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, and hearings take place at the county courthouse in Eatonton.

While someone waits for a bond hearing, they stay in the jail. This could be a day. It could be longer. The booking record is created at intake and does not change based on what happens with bond. Even people who bond out the same day still have a booking record in the Putnam County system.

Georgia Criminal History and Putnam County

A Putnam County booking record covers one arrest. A criminal history covers all of them. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation maintains criminal history records statewide. You can get your own record from most sheriff's offices, including Putnam County. For another person's record, you need signed consent under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34. Felony convictions are an exception and can be checked without consent.

For fingerprint-based background checks, use the Georgia Applicant Processing Service. GAPS uses IdentoGO locations across the state. Results come in 24 to 48 hours. This type of check pulls data from every county in Georgia, not just Putnam.

The GDC Find Offender search tracks inmates in state prisons. It does not cover Putnam County jail inmates. Only people who have been sentenced to state prison appear in this system. For people held locally, the county jail is the source.

Putnam County 24 Hour Booking Access

Booking photos from the Putnam County jail are taken during intake. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 prevents the sheriff's office from putting these photos on a public website. To get a copy of a booking photo, you must write a statement about your intended use. Making a false statement is a crime.

If your Putnam County arrest ended without a conviction, you may qualify for record restriction under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37. The district attorney must approve it. Once restricted, the record is hidden from the public. O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60, the First Offender Act, offers a similar path for people who complete first offender sentences. And if a third-party website has your mugshot, O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5 gives you the right to demand removal for free within 30 days.

Putnam County 24 Hour Booking Lookup Tools

For statewide searches, the GBI criminal history FAQ is a good starting point. It covers what types of records exist, how to get them, and what the costs are.

The GBI website links to services for obtaining criminal history data across all Georgia counties, including Putnam County. Use it when you need more than a single booking record.

For Putnam County booking records directly, call the sheriff's office at (706) 485-8557 or send a written request. For open records complaints, the Governor's open records page explains the process.

Nearby Georgia Counties

Putnam County shares borders with several central Georgia counties. Each maintains its own jail and booking records.