Search Rabun County Police Blotter

Rabun County police blotter records are maintained by the sheriff's office in Clayton, in the far northeast corner of Georgia. This mountain county sees a mix of local crime reports and incidents tied to seasonal tourism in the area. Sheriff Chad K. Nichols runs the office that keeps all arrest logs, incident files, and crime data for Rabun County. You can search for these police blotter records through the sheriff's office directly or by using Georgia's statewide record systems. The Open Records Act ensures public access to most of these files, and the process is straightforward once you know where to look.

Rabun County Police Blotter Office

The Rabun County Sheriff's Office sits at 25 Courthouse Square, Suite 301, in Clayton. Sheriff Chad K. Nichols leads the department that handles all police blotter records for the county. The phone number is (706) 782-3612. Every arrest, traffic incident, and crime report that takes place in Rabun County passes through this office. Deputies file their reports here, and those documents make up the public police blotter.

Rabun County covers a large area of north Georgia mountain land. The county includes parts of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Crime activity can shift with the seasons as visitors come for hiking, fishing, and lake recreation. Police blotter entries in Rabun County reflect this pattern with more calls during warmer months. The sheriff's office keeps records of all of it, from minor property crimes to more serious incidents that take place in the area.

Walk in during business hours to ask for records. Bring your ID.

Rabun County Police Blotter Records

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, Georgia's Open Records Act defines police blotter entries as public records. Anyone can request them from Rabun County. You do not need to live in the county or state. You do not need a stated purpose. The law covers all documents the sheriff's office creates or maintains, including arrest reports, booking logs, and incident files.

Submit your request in writing for the best results. You can mail it to 25 Courthouse Square, Suite 301, Clayton, GA 30525, or hand it to staff in person. The Rabun County Sheriff's Office must respond within three business days per O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71. Page copies cost up to 10 cents each. The first 15 minutes of staff search time are free. After that first quarter hour, the office can charge you at the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee who can handle the task. Putting your request in writing helps because it gives you proof of when you asked and starts that three-day window.

There are limits though. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 exempts records from active cases and pending investigations in Rabun County. Files that would reveal confidential sources are also off limits. But the initial police blotter entry is nearly always available.

State Police Blotter Tools for Rabun County

Georgia State Patrol troopers work Rabun County highways. Their reports go to the Department of Public Safety, not the local sheriff. You can pull these police blotter records through the EPORTS system. Crash reports are $5.00 each. Incident reports cost $2.00. A first citation is free, and extras in the same 24-hour period cost $1.00 each.

Reports through EPORTS usually take three to five business days after the event to be ready. You submit a request, get an email when it is complete, then pay and download the file. For any state highway incident in Rabun County, this system is the fastest route. The Georgia DPS also accepts open records requests by email at openrecords@gsp.net for things that EPORTS does not cover, like dash-cam video or photos from Rabun County incidents.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation offers another set of tools. The GBI Records Request Center handles open records requests for GBI case files. The sex offender registry lets you search for offenders in Rabun County at no charge. And under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34, Georgia felony conviction records are public through the GBI.

Rabun County Inmate and Offender Search

The Georgia Department of Corrections runs an offender search tool that covers state prisons. If someone from Rabun County was sentenced to state time, you can find them here. Photos appear when available. The system does not include people in the Rabun County jail or in federal custody.

For current Rabun County jail inmates, call (706) 782-3612. The sheriff's office can share who is in custody and what charges led to the booking. This information is part of the police blotter and is public under Georgia law.

What Rabun County Police Reports Show

A standard police blotter report from Rabun County lists the date, time, and location of the incident. It describes what happened in brief terms. If there was an arrest, the report includes the person's name and the charges filed. Responding officers are identified too. These reports give a snapshot of each event that law enforcement handled in Rabun County.

Certain details are removed from public copies. Phone numbers, the day and month of birth dates, and medical information are redacted per Georgia law. What you get is the redacted version. Parties to a case and their attorneys can sometimes get a more complete copy. For everyone else, the public version from Rabun County still contains the key facts: who, what, where, and when.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association lists every county sheriff in the state with current contact details.

Record Fees in Rabun County

Fees for police blotter records follow state law. Copies cost up to 10 cents a page. The DPS fee schedule outlines what agencies can charge. Certified copies add $2.00 on top of the base cost. State patrol crash reports from EPORTS are $5.00 each for Rabun County incidents.

The Rabun County Sheriff's Office may have its own fee schedule for local records. Call (706) 782-3612 ahead of time to ask about costs. If your request takes more than 15 minutes of staff time, the office can bill you at the rate of the lowest-paid employee capable of doing the search. Large requests or those that go back many years tend to cost more.

Nearby Counties

These counties share borders with Rabun County. If an incident happened near a county line, it could fall under a neighboring jurisdiction. Confirm with both agencies if you are not sure which office handled the report.