Look Up Athens Police Blotter

Athens police blotter records document arrests, incident reports, and crime data across the consolidated Athens-Clarke County area. Home to the University of Georgia and roughly 130,000 residents, Athens generates a significant volume of police blotter entries each year. The Athens-Clarke County Police Department handles all law enforcement for the unified government, so one agency keeps the records for the entire area. Georgia's Open Records Act gives you the right to access Athens police blotter files, and both local and state tools make it possible to search for specific crime data tied to Athens.

Athens-Clarke County Police Records

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is the sole law enforcement agency for Athens. Since the city and Clarke County consolidated, there is no separate sheriff's patrol or city police department. ACCPD handles everything from traffic stops to major crime investigations. The department's main phone number is (706) 613-3330. Their records division processes public requests for police blotter entries during normal business hours.

Athens police blotter records include incident reports, arrest records, accident reports, and supplemental investigation files. Every call that results in a written report gets a case number. If you need to pull a specific Athens police blotter entry, that case number is the fastest way to locate it. You can also search by date, location, or the names of people involved. ACCPD staff can help you narrow down your search if you have partial information about an Athens incident.

The University of Georgia campus has its own police force that handles incidents on university property. Those records are separate from ACCPD. If you are not sure which agency responded, check with both.

Athens Police Blotter Open Records

Georgia's Open Records Act under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 covers all documents that the Athens-Clarke County Police Department creates or maintains. This includes police blotter entries, arrest reports, incident logs, and booking records. Anyone can request these files. You do not need to be an Athens resident or a party to the case. The law requires the department to make the records available for inspection or copying.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, ACCPD has three business days to respond to your Athens records request. Standard copies cost up to 10 cents per page. Certified copies add a $2.00 surcharge per document. The first 15 minutes of search time are free. After that, Athens can charge the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee who can handle the request. For a single incident report or arrest record from Athens, the total fee is usually small.

O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 lists the exemptions. Active investigations in Athens can have records partially withheld. Juvenile records stay sealed. Personal information like phone numbers and the day and month of birth get redacted from Athens police blotter entries. Year of birth stays in. Medical details are removed too. The facts of the incident, location, date, and arrest data remain available.

Note: Put your Athens police blotter request in writing to start the official three-day response period under Georgia law.

Athens Police Blotter Records

State agencies maintain records that complement the Athens police blotter. The EPORTS online portal has crash reports, incident reports, and citations filed by Georgia State Patrol troopers on highways around Athens. US Highway 78 and several state routes pass through the area. A crash report costs $5.00 through EPORTS. Incident reports run $2.00. The first citation copy is free. Over 600 Georgia law enforcement agencies contribute to this system.

The GBI Records Request Center handles open records requests for state-level investigations in Athens. Criminal history records require the subject's consent under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34, except for felony conviction records which are public. The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search covers people in state prison after an Athens conviction.

Athens Police Blotter Fees

Fees for Athens police blotter records follow what state law allows. Copies cost up to 10 cents per page. Certified copies add $2.00 each. The DPS fee schedule applies to all Georgia agencies including the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. The first 15 minutes of search time are free, which is enough for most single-report requests from Athens.

EPORTS fees for state patrol records are separate. Crash reports from Athens area highways cost $5.00. Incident reports cost $2.00. Citations are free for the first copy. If both a state trooper and an Athens-Clarke County officer responded to the same scene, each agency files its own report and charges its own fees. Call ACCPD in advance to get a cost estimate for your specific Athens police blotter request.

Athens Crime Data Resources

The EPORTS login page is where you start the process of requesting state patrol records tied to Athens. You will need to create an account or log in to search for and order specific reports. The system covers crash reports, incident reports, and citations from Georgia State Patrol activity in the Athens area.

After logging in, you can search for Athens-area reports by date, report number, or other details.

Georgia statutes that govern police blotter access can be looked up through the LexisNexis Georgia Code portal. This includes O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 through § 50-18-72 which control how Athens and every other Georgia agency handles open records requests. Knowing the exact statute text helps if you ever need to push back on a denial from an Athens agency.

The Georgia Code includes all open records laws that apply to Athens-Clarke County police blotter requests.

Nearby Cities

Gainesville is the nearest qualifying city to Athens, located about 45 miles to the northwest. Each city maintains separate police blotter records through different agencies. Check which jurisdiction handled the incident before submitting a request.