Towns County 24 Hour Booking

Towns County 24 hour booking records cover arrests processed through the county jail in Hiawassee. The Towns County Sheriff's Office runs the detention center and logs every booking. Hiawassee is the county seat, located in the far northeast corner of Georgia near the North Carolina border. This is a mountain county with a small population. Booking records are public under state law, and the sheriff's office handles all requests.

Towns County 24 Hour Booking Office

The Towns County Sheriff's Office is at 75 South Main Street, Hiawassee, GA 30546. The phone number is (706) 896-4444. The office handles patrols, investigations, and the county jail. When someone gets arrested in Towns County, they go to the jail for booking. This happens at any hour.

Booking staff record the person's name, date of birth, and address. The charges go into the system. A photo gets taken. Fingerprints are collected. A booking number is assigned. This data makes up the 24 hour booking record. It stays in the Towns County system after that.

Towns County is small. The population is around 12,000, and it rises during the summer and fall when tourists visit Lake Chatuge and the surrounding mountains. Seasonal visitors sometimes end up in the booking system too. The Hiawassee Police Department handles arrests within city limits, but those people still get booked at the county jail. Young Harris, the other main town, also routes its arrests through the county facility.

Towns County 24 Hour Booking

Georgia law makes booking records public. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 says you can request them from any agency that holds them, including the Towns County Sheriff's Office. No reason is needed. You can call for basic details or send a written request for formal copies.

The sheriff's office must respond in three business days under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71. The first 15 minutes of staff time are free. After that, fees are based on the lowest-paid employee's hourly rate. Copies cost about $0.10 per page. Most requests for a single Towns County booking record are cheap. If the estimate goes past $500, prepayment may be required.

Before handing over records, the office removes certain personal data. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 says social security numbers, bank info, email addresses, and cell phone numbers must be blacked out. The arrest details, charges, bond info, and booking date remain. Initial police reports stay public even during open investigations.

Bond and Court in Towns County

Bond follows a standard process. Minor charges often come with a set bond amount. Pay it and leave. Felony charges need a judge to decide. Towns County is in the Enotah Judicial Circuit. Bond hearings take place at the Towns County courthouse in Hiawassee. The judge considers the charges, the person's history, and whether they are likely to show up for court.

If bond is not posted, the person stays in the jail. The booking record remains the same regardless. It was made during intake and that is where it stays. Even if the case gets dismissed months later, the original booking data sits in the Towns County records unless someone goes through the legal process to have it restricted.

Statewide Agencies and Towns County 24 Hour Booking

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation keeps criminal history records for the entire state. These are more detailed than a single booking record. A full history shows every arrest and court outcome for a person. You can get your own from the Towns County Sheriff's Office. For someone else's, O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34 requires signed consent unless you are checking public felony convictions only.

The GDC Find Offender tool searches state prison inmates. It does not include Towns County jail detainees. Only people sentenced to state prison show up. For local inmates, call the sheriff's office at (706) 896-4444.

Fingerprint-based checks run through the Georgia Applicant Processing Service. Results come in 24 to 48 hours. This covers every county in Georgia, including Towns. The GBI FAQ page walks through the different types of checks and how to request them.

Booking Photos and Record Sealing

Every arrest at the Towns County jail includes a booking photo. O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18 prohibits the sheriff's office from posting these photos on a website. To get a copy, you have to submit a written statement about how you will use it. Lying on that form is a crime under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20.

If charges from a Towns County arrest were dismissed or not pursued, record restriction may be an option. O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 allows the district attorney to approve the sealing of certain records. O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60, the First Offender Act, covers people who complete a first offender sentence. Sealed records are only available to judges and law enforcement. If a mugshot website has your Towns County photo and you qualify, O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5 forces the site to remove it within 30 days at no cost.

Towns County 24 Hour Booking Records Search

The Governor's Office open records page covers the rules for requesting public records from any Georgia agency, including the Towns County Sheriff's Office.

This state resource explains how to submit an open records request and what to do if an agency like the Towns County Sheriff's Office does not comply. Agencies face fines for violations.

For direct contact, call the Towns County jail at (706) 896-4444. You can also write to the sheriff's office at 75 South Main Street, Hiawassee, GA 30546. Ask for booking records by name or by date.

Nearby Georgia Counties

These counties border Towns County in the north Georgia mountains. Each has its own sheriff's office and jail.