Police Blotter in Gordon County

Gordon County police blotter records cover arrests, incident reports, and crime activity across this northwest Georgia county with Calhoun as the county seat. Sheriff Mitch Ralston oversees the Gordon County Sheriff's Office, which is the primary law enforcement agency serving unincorporated areas and providing jail services. You can search police blotter entries through the sheriff's office or through Georgia state databases that include Gordon County records. The Open Records Act gives the public a clear right to request these files, and several free tools let you check arrest data, offender records, and reported incidents from Gordon County.

Gordon County Police Blotter Office

The Gordon County Sheriff's Office sits at 2700 US Hwy 41 NW in Calhoun. This is where all police blotter records are kept for the county. Sheriff Mitch Ralston leads the department. Call (706) 629-1244 for the main line. Deputies patrol the rural roads, neighborhoods, and commercial areas of Gordon County. Every call they respond to gets documented. That paperwork becomes part of the police blotter.

Gordon County is in northwest Georgia, about an hour north of Atlanta. The area has a mix of rural land and small towns. Crime patterns here differ from metro areas, but the blotter still logs everything from traffic stops to serious felonies. The sheriff's office keeps these files and can search them for you. Walk-in requests are fine during normal business hours. Staff will pull records if you give them enough detail to work with, like a name, date, or case number.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, police blotter entries are public records in Gordon County. The initial incident report is open to anyone. You do not have to explain why you want it. The office has three business days to respond under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71.

Gordon County Police Blotter Records

Georgia's Open Records Act is the backbone of public access to police blotter records in Gordon County. The law says any person can ask for records held by a government agency. It does not matter where you live or why you want them. Arrest reports, incident logs, and booking sheets from the Gordon County Sheriff's Office all fall under this law.

Some things are exempt though. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 protects records that are part of an active investigation or criminal prosecution. If a case is still open in Gordon County, the sheriff can withhold certain documents to avoid hurting the case. Confidential source identities stay sealed. Records that would endanger someone are also held back. But the base police blotter record, the first report about what happened, is nearly always available to the public in Gordon County. Copies cost up to 10 cents per page, and the first 15 minutes of search time come at no charge.

Put your request in writing if you can. Mail it to the Gordon County Sheriff's Office at 2700 US Hwy 41 NW, Calhoun, GA 30701. That starts the clock on the three-day deadline.

State Patrol Police Blotter in Gordon County

The Georgia State Patrol also creates police blotter records in Gordon County. Troopers work I-75, US-41, and other state roads in the area. Their reports cover traffic crashes, DUI stops, drug interdictions on the interstate, and more. These are not part of the sheriff's records. They go through the state system instead.

You can get state patrol reports through the EPORTS online portal. Crash reports are $5.00 each. Incident reports cost $2.00. Your first citation download is free, and extras are $1.00 within the same 24-hour window. Most reports show up in three to five business days. Gordon County sits along I-75, so state patrol activity here is higher than in many rural counties. If the incident you are looking for happened on the interstate or a state highway, EPORTS is the right place to check.

EPORTS only covers state-generated reports. For sheriff's office records in Gordon County, contact the office directly.

GBI Records Covering Gordon County

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation maintains crime data that includes Gordon County. The GBI assists local law enforcement with major cases, lab work, and data collection. You can submit an open records request through the GBI Records Request Center if you need files from a GBI investigation in Gordon County.

Criminal history checks work differently. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34, you need consent from the subject unless the record is a Georgia felony conviction. Felony convictions are public. The Georgia Sex Offender Registry is also run by the GBI. Search it for free to find registered offenders in the Gordon County area.

Note: The GBI crime statistics database is currently offline, but local crime figures from Gordon County are still reported through the statewide Uniform Crime Reporting program.

Gordon County Offender Search

People from Gordon County who are in state prison can be found through the Georgia Department of Corrections. The GDC offender query tool lets you search by name. Photos show up when they are on file. This covers all state prisons but not the Gordon County jail or federal facilities.

For current inmates in the Gordon County jail, call the sheriff's office at (706) 629-1244. Booking records and arrest data are part of the police blotter and are public under Georgia law. Staff can confirm if someone is in custody and what charges they face.

Gordon County Record Fees

Fees for police blotter records in Gordon County follow the state guidelines laid out in the Open Records Act. Copies cost up to 10 cents per page for letter or legal size paper. The DPS fee schedule gives a clear look at what agencies can charge across Georgia. The first quarter hour of search time is free. After that, the rate matches the lowest-paid employee who can handle the job.

Certified copies carry an extra $2.00 fee. State patrol crash reports from Gordon County are $5.00 through EPORTS, and incident reports are $2.00. The Gordon County Sheriff's Office sets its own rates for locally generated records, so call ahead to confirm current costs.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Gordon County. If you need police blotter records for an incident near the county line, check with both offices to see who handled the call.