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 between September 23, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Franklin County, Georgia, has about 25,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and four city agencies. 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 Franklin 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: Franklin County public records, Georgia arrest records, Georgia inmate search and Georgia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Franklin County
The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Franklin County. It reported 354 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year.
Arrests inside four of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Royston, 2,665 residents.
- Lavonia, 2,165 residents: 344 arrests reported for 2025.
- Franklin Springs, 1,181 residents: 8 arrests reported for 2025.
- Canon, 705 residents: 13 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 Franklin County
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.
- Lavonia: 344 for 2025, 437 for 2024, 290 for 2023, 200 for 2022, 248 for 2021 and 186 for 2020.
- Canon: 13 for 2025, 20 for 2024, 3 for 2022, 1 for 2021, 2 for 2020 and 12 for 2019; 2023 is missing months.
- Franklin Springs: 8 for 2025, 13 for 2024, 5 for 2023, 4 for 2022, 0 for 2021 and 21 for 2019; 2020 is missing months.
- Franklin County Sheriff's Office: 354 for 2023, 355 for 2022, 371 for 2021, 376 for 2020 and 1,222 for 2019.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 365 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 365 in 2025 against 470 in 2024, down 22 percent.
Through May 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 142 arrests, against 155 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Franklin County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Franklin 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 93 people on an average day, up from about 76 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 74 beds, and it is running at 126 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 Franklin County Sheriff's Office at franklincountyga.gov/1407/Detention-Center (page title: Detention Center | Franklin County, GA), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Franklin County
For Franklin County the place to look is the case index of the Franklin 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 Franklin 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 Franklin County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Royston, Lavonia, Franklin Springs or Canon: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Franklin County Superior Court, through the court records page at georgiacourts.gov/eaccess-court-records.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at franklincountyga.gov/1412/Open-Records (page title: Open Records | Franklin County, GA).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request through Georgia Applicant Processing Services.
Cities in Franklin County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the five cities in Franklin County: Royston, Lavonia, Franklin Springs and Canon. Carnesville has no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Franklin County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Franklin County each year?
Lavonia reported 344 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 365 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Franklin County?
Ask the Franklin County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at franklincountyga.gov/1407/Detention-Center.
Where are people arrested in Franklin County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Franklin 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 Franklin County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Franklin 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; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at franklincountyga.gov/1412/Open-Records.
Is this the official Franklin 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.