Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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 on September 23, 2026.
Ben Hill County, Georgia, has about 17,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. An arrest 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 Ben Hill County Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Ben Hill County public records, Georgia arrest records, Georgia inmate search and Georgia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Ben Hill County
The Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Ben Hill County. It reported 219 arrests for 2024, its latest complete year.
One city in Ben Hill County reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Fitzgerald, 8,813 residents: 263 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Ben Hill County
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.
- Fitzgerald: 263 for 2025, 403 for 2024, 505 for 2023, 364 for 2022, 391 for 2021 and 237 for 2020.
- Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office: 219 for 2024, 234 for 2023, 277 for 2022, 234 for 2021 and 223 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 622 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 622 in 2024 against 739 in 2023, down 16 percent.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Ben Hill County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Ben Hill County 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 100 people on an average day, up from about 91 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 145 beds, and it is running at 72 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 Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office at benhillcounty-ga.gov/business-directory/sheriff (page title: Sheriff | Ben Hill County), phone (229) 426-4152, Wednesday, May 22, 2024 Time: 11:00AM - 1:00PM, 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 Ben Hill County
For Ben Hill County the place to look is the case index of the Ben Hill County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at georgiacourts.gov/eaccess-court-records).
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 Ben Hill County
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 Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (229) 426-4152.
- An arrest in Fitzgerald: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Ben Hill County Superior Court, through the court records page at georgiacourts.gov/eaccess-court-records.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request through Georgia Applicant Processing Services.
Cities in Ben Hill County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for Fitzgerald, the one city in Ben Hill County.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Ben Hill County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Ben Hill County each year?
Fitzgerald reported 263 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Ben Hill County sent in full, the two with every month on file reported 622 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Ben Hill County?
Ask the Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office at (229) 426-4152; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at benhillcounty-ga.gov.
Where are people arrested in Ben Hill County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Ben Hill County?
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 Ben Hill County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Georgia Open Records Act the answer is due within 3 business days.
Is this the official Ben Hill County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.