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.
Jefferson County, Georgia, has about 15,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and five 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 Jefferson 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: Jefferson County public records, Georgia arrest records, Georgia inmate search and Georgia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Jefferson County
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Jefferson County. It reported 298 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside five 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:
- Louisville, 2,223 residents: 6 arrests reported for 2023.
- Wrens, 2,099 residents.
- Wadley, 1,576 residents: 1 arrests reported for 2024.
- Stapleton, 397 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2025.
- Bartow, 178 residents: 0 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 Jefferson 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.
- Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: 298 for 2025, 229 for 2024, 147 for 2023, 134 for 2022, 220 for 2021 and 189 for 2020.
- Bartow: 0 for 2025, 1 for 2024, 4 for 2023, 2 for 2022 and 1 for 2021.
- Stapleton: 0 for 2025, 0 for 2024, 1 for 2022 and 4 for 2021; 2023 is missing months.
- Louisville: 6 for 2023, 13 for 2022, 4 for 2021 and 17 for 2020.
- Wadley: 1 for 2024, 3 for 2023, 0 for 2022, 1 for 2021 and 0 for 2020.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 298 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 298 in 2025 against 230 in 2024, up 30 percent.
Through July 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 109 arrests, against 154 in the same months of 2025.
Wadley reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Jefferson County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Jefferson County 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 120 people on an average day, up from about 100 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 162 beds, and it is running at 72 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 Jefferson County
Whether someone was arrested in Jefferson County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Jefferson 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=81, phone (478) 625-7922); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at pacga.org/find-your-prosecutor/county/jackson, phone 706-387-6288).
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 Jefferson County
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 Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Louisville, Wrens, Wadley, Stapleton or Bartow: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 706-387-6288, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Jefferson County Superior Court, through the court records page at gsccca.org/clerks/clerk-results?cid=81, phone (478) 625-7922.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at jeffersoncountyga.gov (page title: Open Records Request | Jefferson County, GA).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request through Georgia Applicant Processing Services.
Cities in Jefferson County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for five of the six cities in Jefferson County: Louisville, Wrens, Wadley, Stapleton and Bartow. Avera 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 Jefferson County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Jefferson County each year?
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office reported 298 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 298 between them.
Where are people arrested in Jefferson County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Jefferson 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 jeffersoncountyga.gov.
Is this the official Jefferson 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.