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 30, 2026.
Vidalia, Georgia, in Toombs County, has about 11,000 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 Toombs 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: Vidalia public records, Toombs County arrest records, Georgia arrest records and Georgia inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Vidalia
The FBI lists Vidalia with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Vidalia Police Department. It reported 300 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 Toombs County Sheriff's Office is the county agency.
How Many Arrests Vidalia 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.
- Vidalia: 300 for 2024, 258 for 2023, 261 for 2022, 297 for 2021 and 164 for 2020.
Vidalia's 300 arrests in 2024 were up 16 percent from 258 in 2023.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Vidalia Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Vidalia 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 140 people on an average day, up from about 110 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 240 beds, and it is running at 58 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 Toombs County Sheriff's Office at toombscosheriff.org/divisions/detention-center (page title: Detention Center | Toombs County Sheriff), phone 912-526-6778, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
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 Vidalia
An arrest in Vidalia can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Toombs 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=138, phone (912) 526-3501); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at pacga.org/find-your-prosecutor/county/toombs, phone 912-526-3803).
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 Vidalia
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. 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 Vidalia police: the police department's page SearchSystems verified at vidaliaga.gov/departments/vidalia-police (page title: Vidalia Police | Vidalia Georgia), phone 912-537-7708, 7708 Address Vidalia City Hall 302 E First Street, Suite C Vidalia, GA 30474, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 25, 2026.
- An arrest by the Toombs County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 912-526-6778.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 912-526-3803, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Toombs County Superior Court, through the court records page at gsccca.org/clerks/clerk-results?cid=138, phone (912) 526-3501.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at toombscosheriff.org/open-records-request (page title: Open Records Request | Toombs County Sheriff).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request through Georgia Applicant Processing Services.
The Toombs County guide covers every agency in the county: Toombs County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Vidalia each year?
Vidalia reported 300 arrests to the FBI for 2024, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Vidalia?
Ask the Toombs County Sheriff's Office at 912-526-6778; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at toombscosheriff.org.
Where are people arrested in Vidalia booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Toombs County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Vidalia?
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 Vidalia?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Vidalia police for its own arrests, the Toombs 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 toombscosheriff.org/open-records-request.
Is this the official Vidalia 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.