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 2024. 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.
McDonough, Georgia, in Henry County, has about 33,000 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 Henry 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: McDonough public records, Henry County arrest records, Georgia arrest records and Georgia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in McDonough
The FBI lists McDonough with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as McDonough Police Department. It reported 287 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year. 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 Henry County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 24 arrests for 2025.
How Many Arrests McDonough Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- McDonough: 287 for 2024, 515 for 2023, 350 for 2022, 407 for 2021, 412 for 2020 and 538 for 2019.
McDonough's 287 arrests in 2024 were down 44 percent from 515 in 2023.
Across Henry County, the five agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,512 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in McDonough Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in McDonough 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 830 people on an average day, up from about 770 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 877 beds, and it is running at 95 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Henry County Sheriff's Office at inmatesearch.co.henry.ga.us/NewWorld.InmateInquiry/GA0750000 (page title: Booking Number | Henry County Inmate Search), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
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 McDonough
An arrest in McDonough can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Henry County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Henry County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at micropact.co.henry.ga.us/StateCMWS/MainCmMenu.aspx).
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 McDonough
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 McDonough police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at mcdonoughga.org/169/Office-of-Professional-Standards (page title: Office of Professional Standards | McDonough, GA), phone 770-957-1218, 50 Lawrenceville Street McDonough, GA 30253, Monday through Friday 8:00am - 5:00 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Henry County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Henry County Superior Court, through the court records page at micropact.co.henry.ga.us.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at henrycountyga.gov/open-record-requests (page title: Open Record Requests | Henry County, GA).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request through Georgia Applicant Processing Services.
The Henry County guide covers every agency in the county: Henry County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in McDonough each year?
McDonough reported 287 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in McDonough?
Look on the custody page of the Henry County Sheriff's Office at inmatesearch.co.henry.ga.us. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in McDonough booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Henry County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in McDonough?
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 McDonough?
From the agency that made the arrest: the McDonough police for its own arrests, the Henry County Sheriff's Office for the sheriff's. Under the Georgia Open Records Act the answer is due within 3 business days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at henrycountyga.gov/open-record-requests.
Is this the official McDonough 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.