Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. 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 26, 2026.
Thomson, Georgia, in McDuffie County, has about 6,800 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 McDuffie County Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, arrest counts, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Thomson public records, McDuffie County arrest records, Georgia arrest records and Georgia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Thomson
The FBI lists Thomson with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Thomson Police Department. 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 McDuffie County Sheriff's Office is the county agency. It reported 90 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in McDuffie County: the State Patrol at Thomson (state police).
Arrest Counts on File for Thomson
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Thomson the counts on file are partial: Thomson has sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Thomson Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Thomson and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 130 people on an average day, up from about 79 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 250 beds, and it is running at 52 percent of it. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Georgia Department of Corrections lists its inmates at gdc.georgia.gov/offender-info/find-offender.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Thomson
For Thomson the place to look is the case index of the McDuffie County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at gsccca.org/clerks/clerk-results?cid=97, phone (706) 595-2134).
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 Thomson
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 Thomson police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at thomson-mcduffie.gov/206/Records-Department (page title: Records Department | McDuffie County, GA), phone 706-595-2166, 309 Main Street Thomson, GA 30824, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the McDuffie County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the McDuffie County Superior Court, through the court records page at gsccca.org/clerks/clerk-results?cid=97, phone (706) 595-2134.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request through Georgia Applicant Processing Services.
The McDuffie County guide covers every agency in the county: McDuffie County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are people arrested in Thomson booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the McDuffie County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Thomson?
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 Thomson?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Thomson police for its own arrests, the McDuffie 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 Thomson 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.