Grady County Police Blotter Search
Grady County police blotter records document arrests, crime reports, and incident logs throughout this southwest Georgia county. Sheriff Martin E Prince heads the Grady County Sheriff's Office in Cairo, which serves as the primary law enforcement agency for the area. You can look up police blotter entries by calling the sheriff's office, visiting in person, or checking Georgia's statewide databases that pull in Grady County data. Under the state Open Records Act, the public has a right to access these records, and there are free online tools for searching arrest data and offender information connected to Grady County.
Grady County Quick Facts
Grady County Police Blotter Office
The Grady County Sheriff's Office is the go-to source for local police blotter records. Sheriff Martin E Prince runs the department from PO Box 690 in Cairo. You can reach the office by phone at (229) 377-5200. Deputies patrol all of Grady County, from the town of Cairo to the smaller communities and rural roads. Every call for service and every arrest produces a report that goes into the police blotter.
Grady County sits near the Florida border in southwest Georgia. Cairo is the only real town of any size. The county is mostly farmland and small crossroads. Crime reports here tend toward property offenses, traffic matters, and drug cases. But the blotter logs it all. Walk into the sheriff's office during business hours, and you can ask to see records. Give staff a name, a date, or a case number, and they can pull what you need from the Grady County police blotter system.
| Office | Grady County Sheriff's Office |
|---|---|
| Address | PO Box 690, Cairo, GA 39828 |
| Phone | (229) 377-5200 |
| Sheriff | Martin E Prince |
Grady County Police Blotter Records
The Georgia Open Records Act is what makes police blotter data available in Grady County. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 defines public records broadly. It covers everything the sheriff's office creates, stores, or receives. That includes arrest reports, incident logs, crash reports, and booking records. Anyone can ask for these files. There is no requirement to show ID, prove residency, or state your reason.
Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, the Grady County Sheriff's Office must respond to a records request within three business days. Copies cost up to 10 cents per page for standard sizes. The first 15 minutes of staff time to search for your record are free. After that, the office can bill at the rate of the lowest-paid worker who can handle the task. Written requests are best because they create a paper trail and start the response deadline in Grady County.
Exemptions exist under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72. Active investigations can be held back. Confidential informant names stay sealed. But the first police blotter entry for any incident is almost always open to the public in Grady County.
State Patrol Police Blotter in Grady County
Georgia State Patrol troopers generate their own reports in Grady County. They cover state roads and highways, handle traffic enforcement, and respond to crashes. Their records are separate from the sheriff's office files. The EPORTS system is how you get those reports.
EPORTS charges $5.00 for crash reports, $2.00 for incident reports, and nothing for your first citation. Additional citations within the same day cost $1.00 each. Reports usually take three to five business days to become available. If something happened on a state road in Grady County, this is the fastest route to that police blotter entry. You submit the request online, get notified by email when the record is ready, then pay and download the file.
The GBI Records Request Center is another state-level tool you can use for investigative files tied to Grady County cases.
GBI Crime Information for Grady County
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation helps local agencies like the Grady County Sheriff's Office with lab work, major investigations, and data collection. The GBI also manages criminal history data and the sex offender registry. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34, criminal history records other than Georgia felony convictions need the subject's consent to access. Felony convictions are public and can be looked up without permission.
The Georgia Sex Offender Registry is free to search. It shows the names, addresses, photos, and offenses of registered sex offenders. You can filter results for Grady County. The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search covers people in state prison. Search by name to find inmates. It does not include people in the Grady County jail. For jail info, call (229) 377-5200 and ask the staff directly.
Note: Booking records from the Grady County jail are part of the police blotter and are public under state law.
What Grady County Police Reports Show
A police blotter entry from Grady County will include several key details. The report logs the date and time. It names the location of the incident. A brief summary explains what took place. If an arrest happened, the person's name, age, and charges appear on the report. The name or badge number of the responding officer is also listed.
Certain facts are removed before the report goes to the public. Georgia law requires that phone numbers, day and month of birth, and medical information be redacted from police blotter entries in Grady County. The redacted version is what you receive. Parties to the case can sometimes get more complete copies. Attorneys working on a related matter may also qualify for fuller records. To confirm the Grady County Sheriff's Office address and phone before sending your request, check the Georgia Sheriffs' Association directory.
Grady County Blotter Record Fees
Police blotter record fees in Grady County are set by state law. Copies cost up to 10 cents per page. Certified copies add $2.00 to that. The DPS open records fee schedule spells out what can be charged. Search time is free for the first quarter hour. After that, fees are based on the hourly pay of the lowest-paid qualified staff member in Grady County.
State patrol reports from EPORTS carry their own prices. Crash reports are $5.00. Incident reports are $2.00. Citations start free. The Grady County Sheriff's Office may charge slightly different amounts for its own records, so call ahead.
Nearby Counties
These counties share a border with Grady County. If an incident happened close to the line, reach out to both offices. The agency with jurisdiction depends on the exact spot.