Atlanta Police Blotter Search

Atlanta police blotter records document every arrest, incident report, and booking processed by the Atlanta Police Department and surrounding agencies across the city. As Georgia's capital and largest city with over 520,000 residents, Atlanta generates a high volume of crime data and public safety records each year. The Atlanta Police Department handles most police blotter entries within city limits, while Fulton County manages county-level records and jail bookings. Georgia's Open Records Act makes these police blotter files available to anyone who asks, and several online tools let you search Atlanta crime data from home.

Atlanta Police Blotter Records

The Atlanta Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the city. APD headquarters sits at 226 Peachtree Street SW in downtown Atlanta. The department divides the city into six patrol zones, and each zone has its own precinct that generates police blotter entries for that area. If you know which part of Atlanta the incident took place in, that zone's precinct can help narrow your search for the right report.

Atlanta police blotter records include incident reports, arrest records, accident reports, and supplemental case files. APD processes thousands of reports each month. The department's records unit handles public requests for copies. You can visit in person, call (404) 614-6544, or submit a written request. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, these records are public and the department must respond. Atlanta's size means the records unit stays busy, so written requests with specific details tend to get processed faster than walk-ins asking for broad searches.

For incidents on Atlanta's highways, the Georgia State Patrol may have filed the report instead of APD.

Atlanta Records in Fulton County

Atlanta sits mostly in Fulton County, though a small portion extends into DeKalb County on the east side. When someone is arrested in Atlanta by APD, they may be booked at the Atlanta City Detention Center or transferred to the Fulton County Jail. The police blotter entry originates with APD, but booking records at the county level are kept by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office. Both sets of records are public.

The Fulton County Clerk of Superior Court also holds court records tied to Atlanta arrests. If a case moves from arrest to prosecution, the court docket in Fulton County will have filings, hearing dates, and disposition information. For police blotter data that goes beyond the initial incident report, checking Fulton County court records gives you the full picture of what happened after the Atlanta arrest.

Note: DeKalb County handles records for the small portion of Atlanta that falls east of the county line.

Atlanta Police Blotter Open Records

Georgia law protects your right to access police blotter records from any agency in Atlanta. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 requires the Atlanta Police Department to respond within three business days of getting your request. The law also caps copy fees at 10 cents per page for standard letter or legal size paper. The first 15 minutes of search time are free. After that, the city can charge based on the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee who can pull the records you need.

Some Atlanta police blotter records have limits on what can be released. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 lists exemptions that apply across the state. Active investigations in Atlanta are a common reason for withholding parts of a report. Records involving juveniles are sealed. Victim contact information gets redacted. But the core police blotter entry, which covers the nature of the call, the location, the time, and any arrests made, is almost always available to the public in Atlanta.

Criminal history checks work differently than open records requests. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34, you need the subject's written consent to pull their full criminal background through the GBI. Atlanta felony convictions are an exception since those are public record. For police blotter entries specifically, no consent is needed. The incident report is a public document from the moment it is filed by Atlanta officers.

Atlanta Police Blotter Records

Several state agencies maintain records that relate to Atlanta police blotter data. The Georgia Department of Public Safety runs the EPORTS system, where you can pull crash reports, incident reports, and citations filed by state troopers working in and around Atlanta. A crash report costs $5.00 and an incident report runs $2.00. Citations are free for the first copy. With Atlanta's busy interstates and highways, many traffic-related police blotter entries come through state patrol rather than APD.

The GBI Records Request Center handles open records requests for state-level investigations in Atlanta. If the GBI assisted on a case in the city, their files may contain information not found in the APD police blotter. The Georgia Sex Offender Registry lets you search for registered offenders living in Atlanta neighborhoods. And the Georgia Department of Corrections offender search shows anyone serving state prison time after an Atlanta conviction.

Atlanta Police Record Fees

Fees for Atlanta police blotter records follow the guidelines in state law. Standard copies from the Atlanta Police Department cost up to 10 cents per page. Certified copies cost more, usually an extra $2.00 per document. The DPS fee schedule outlines what all Georgia agencies can charge. APD's records unit can give you a fee estimate before they process your request if you ask.

Through EPORTS, state patrol records from Atlanta highways have set prices. Crash reports are $5.00, incident reports are $2.00, and citations are free. These are separate from APD fees. If both a state trooper and an Atlanta police officer responded to the same scene, you may need to request reports from both agencies and pay each one separately. For most routine Atlanta police blotter lookups, the total cost stays under $10.

Note: The first 15 minutes of search time are free under Georgia law, which covers most single-record requests from Atlanta PD.

Atlanta Crime Data Resources

The EPORTS portal is one of the most used tools for pulling police blotter records tied to Atlanta traffic incidents. Over 600 Georgia law enforcement agencies feed data into the system. Atlanta generates a significant share of the state's total reports given its size and traffic volume. You can search by report number, date, or name to find the record you need.

EPORTS works best when you have a report number or the exact date of the Atlanta incident you are looking for.

For people who have been sentenced to state prison after an Atlanta arrest, the Georgia Department of Corrections keeps searchable inmate records. This database covers current and former inmates. It does not include people held in the Atlanta city jail or in Fulton County's detention facility. Those local booking records come from the respective agency that operates the jail.

Search by name to find anyone in Georgia state custody after an Atlanta conviction. The tool shows photos when they are available.

Nearby Cities

Several cities near Atlanta have their own police departments and separate police blotter records. If an incident happened close to a city boundary, the report may be filed with a neighboring agency instead of APD. Check the exact location before requesting records from Atlanta.