Bartow County Police Blotter Records

Police blotter records for Bartow County capture every arrest, incident report, and crime event logged by the sheriff's office and other agencies in the Cartersville area. Sheriff Clark Millsap runs the Bartow County Sheriff's Office, which handles law enforcement across the county. Bartow County sits along Interstate 75 northwest of Atlanta, and its police blotter reflects a mix of local crime activity and highway-related incidents. You can search for records through the sheriff's office, request state patrol reports online, and use several Georgia databases to look up arrest and offender data tied to Bartow County.

Bartow County Police Blotter Office

The Bartow County Sheriff's Office is located at 104 Zena Drive in Cartersville. The main phone number is (770) 382-5050. Sheriff Clark Millsap oversees all operations, including patrols, criminal investigations, the county jail, and court services. Deputies create police blotter records every time they respond to a call, make an arrest, or file an incident report in Bartow County.

Cartersville has its own police department that handles incidents within city limits. If the event you are looking for happened inside Cartersville, that department may have the report rather than the Bartow County Sheriff's Office. For the rest of the county, including unincorporated areas and smaller towns like Adairsville, Emerson, Euharlee, Kingston, Taylorsville, and White, the sheriff's office takes the lead. Check with the right agency first to save time.

Booking records from the Bartow County jail are public. They show the arrested person's name, charges, booking date, and bond amount. These records are part of the police blotter.

Getting Bartow County Police Blotter Records

Georgia's Open Records Act protects your right to see police blotter records from Bartow County. The law begins at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, which defines public records as all documents, data, and files prepared or maintained by a government agency. The Bartow County Sheriff's Office falls squarely under this law.

Submit a written request. You can deliver it to the office on Zena Drive, mail it, or send it by email if the Bartow County Sheriff's Office accepts electronic requests. State exactly what records you need. A date, a name, a case number. The law gives the office three business days to respond under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71. If they need more time for a large request, they must tell you in writing and give a timeline. Copies cost up to 10 cents per page in Bartow County. Search time is free for the first 15 minutes.

There are limits. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 lets agencies withhold records from active criminal investigations. That means if an arrest in Bartow County led to charges and the case is still pending, parts of the file may be off limits. The initial incident report is usually still available. Once the case wraps up, the rest of the records tend to open up to the public.

Note: If the Bartow County office turns down your request, they must explain the legal basis for the denial.

State Patrol Police Blotter in Bartow County

Interstate 75 runs through Bartow County, and Georgia State Patrol troopers are active on this and other state routes. When a trooper handles a crash, arrest, or incident in Bartow County, the record goes through the Georgia Department of Public Safety. You get those records through EPORTS.

Crash reports cost $5.00 each. Incident reports cost $2.00. First citations are free. Records are usually ready three to five business days after the incident in Bartow County. Multi-car crashes or those with injuries take longer. You request, wait for the email, then pay and download. EPORTS does not cover the Bartow County Sheriff's Office or the Cartersville Police Department. For those records, you contact the agency directly.

For dash cam footage, photos, or other materials from state patrol incidents in Bartow County, email openrecords@gsp.net. Those items are not available through the EPORTS portal and require a separate request to the DPS Open Records Unit.

The EPORTS system covers only Georgia Department of Public Safety records, not local Bartow County sheriff or city police files.

Bartow County Police Blotter Data

Several Georgia state databases include records from Bartow County. The GBI Records Request Center lets you file open records requests for any case the Georgia Bureau of Investigation worked in Bartow County. Major crime investigations that the sheriff requested GBI help on are handled through this portal.

Search the Georgia Sex Offender Registry for free to find registered offenders in Bartow County. The registry shows names, addresses, photos, and offenses. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34, full criminal history checks through the GBI require the subject's consent, but Georgia felony convictions are public and do not need consent.

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search shows anyone currently in a state prison. If someone was convicted in Bartow County and sentenced to state time, this tool has their facility location, status, and photo when available. It does not cover the Bartow County jail or federal prisons.

Bartow County Police Report Format

Police blotter records from Bartow County use a standard format. Each entry has a case number, the date and time, the location within Bartow County, and the type of call or offense. Names of involved parties are listed. The responding deputy or officer is identified. A narrative section tells the story of what happened.

Georgia law requires redaction of certain details before the public gets a copy. Phone numbers, the day and month of birth, and medical information come out. The year of birth stays. These rules apply across the state, including Bartow County. If you are directly involved in the case or represent someone who is, you may be able to get a fuller version of the Bartow County police blotter record.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association represents all 159 county sheriffs, including the Bartow County Sheriff's Office.

Bartow County Records Fees

Fees for police blotter records from Bartow County follow state guidelines under the Open Records Act. Standard copies cost up to 10 cents per page. Certified copies add a $2.00 certification fee. The first 15 minutes of search time is free. For longer searches, the Bartow County office can charge at the rate of the lowest-paid employee capable of the work. The DPS open records fee schedule shows the full breakdown of what Georgia agencies can charge for records searches.

Cities in Bartow County

Bartow County includes several cities and towns. Cartersville is the county seat and the largest city. All cities in Bartow County file cases through the Cherokee Judicial Circuit courts. Local police departments handle incidents within their city limits, while the Bartow County Sheriff covers everything else.

Other communities in Bartow County include Adairsville, Emerson, Euharlee, Kingston, Taylorsville, and White. These smaller towns do not have dedicated police blotter pages, but their records are available through the Bartow County Sheriff's Office or their local police departments.

Nearby Counties

Bartow County borders these counties in northwest Georgia. For incidents near a county line, check with both agencies to find the correct report.