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 2, 2026.
Telfair County, Georgia, has about 11,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Telfair County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and one state 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 Telfair 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: Telfair County public records, Georgia arrest records, Georgia inmate search and Georgia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Telfair County
The Telfair County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Telfair County. It reported 1,152 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside three 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:
- McRae-Helena, 5,186 residents: 5 arrests reported for 2025.
- Lumber City, 966 residents.
- Jacksonville, 104 residents.
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.
The Milan Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Telfair County, so its arrests are not broken out for Telfair County here.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Telfair County: the State Patrol at Helena (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Telfair 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.
- Telfair County Sheriff's Office: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- McRae-Helena: 5 for 2025, 14 for 2024, 8 for 2023, 4 for 2022, 1 for 2021 and 2 for 2020.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,157 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,157 in 2025 against 1,166 in 2024, down 0.8 percent.
Through June 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 525 arrests, against 578 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Telfair County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Telfair 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 50 people on an average day, up from about 31 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 70 beds, and it is running at 71 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 Telfair County
For Telfair County the place to look is the case index of the Telfair 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 Telfair 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 Telfair County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in McRae-Helena, Lumber City or Jacksonville: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the State Patrol at Helena: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Telfair 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 Telfair County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the four cities in Telfair County: McRae-Helena, Lumber City and Jacksonville. Scotland 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 Telfair County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Telfair County each year?
The Telfair County Sheriff's Office reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,157 between them.
Where are people arrested in Telfair County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Telfair County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Telfair 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 Telfair County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Telfair 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 Telfair 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.