Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026.
Albany, Georgia, in Dougherty County, has about 67,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Dougherty County Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Albany public records, Dougherty County arrest records, Georgia arrest records and Georgia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Albany
The FBI lists Albany with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Albany Police Department. It reported 1,283 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 38 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Dougherty County: the State Patrol at Albany (state police); Albany State University and Albany Technical College (campus police); Dougherty County Board of Education (other).
How Many Arrests Albany Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Albany: 1,283 for 2025, 1,604 for 2023, 1,098 for 2022, 960 for 2021 and 1,817 for 2020; 2024 is missing months.
Through July 2026, Albany reported 752 arrests, against 750 in the same months of 2025.
Across Dougherty County, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,488 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Albany Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Albany is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 770 people on an average day, up from about 600 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 1,230 beds, and it is running at 63 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office at dougherty.ga.us/Government/Public-Safety/Sheriff%E2%80%99s-Office (page title: Sheriff’s Office Dougherty County, GA), phone 229-302-3600, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Georgia Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at gdc.georgia.gov/offender-info/find-offender.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Albany
For Albany the place to look is the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at dougherty.ga.us/Courts/District-Attorney, phone 229.431.3233).
Georgia is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: Georgia Felon Search lets anyone check felony convictions online by name, through the Georgia Crime Information Center. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Albany
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Georgia Open Records Act the agency must answer within 3 business days, and it may charge for search, retrieval and copying after the first quarter hour.
- An arrest by the Albany police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at albanyga.gov/City-Departments/Albany-Police-Department/FAQs (page title: FAQs | City of Albany, GA), phone 229-431-2100, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 229-302-3600.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 229.431.3233, handles discovery for pending cases.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request through Georgia Applicant Processing Services.
The Dougherty County guide covers every agency in the county: Dougherty County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Albany each year?
Albany reported 1,283 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Albany?
Ask the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office at 229-302-3600; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at dougherty.ga.us.
Where are people arrested in Albany booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Albany?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Georgia Crime Information Center: Georgia Felon Search lets anyone check felony convictions online by name. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Georgia Open Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Albany?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Albany police for its own arrests, the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Georgia Open Records Act the answer is due within 3 business days.
Is this the official Albany website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.