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.
Washington County, Georgia, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, three city agencies and one other 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 Washington 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: Washington County public records, Georgia arrest records, Georgia inmate search and Georgia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Washington County
The Washington County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Washington County. It reported 129 arrests for 2021, its latest complete year.
The FBI lists three cities in Washington County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Sandersville, 5,500 residents: 70 arrests reported for 2025.
- Davisboro, 1,946 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2023.
- Oconee, 183 residents: 1,152 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.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Washington County: Washington County Board of Education (other).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Washington 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.
- Oconee: 1,152 for 2025, 1,152 for 2024, 1,146 for 2023, 1,132 for 2022, 919 for 2021 and 1,146 for 2020.
- Sandersville: 70 for 2025, 55 for 2023, 53 for 2022, 44 for 2021, 52 for 2020 and 199 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Washington County Sheriff's Office: 129 for 2021.
- Davisboro: 0 for 2023 and 0 for 2022.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,222 arrests that year. The one of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,152 in 2025 against 1,152 in 2024.
Through July 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 671 arrests, against 710 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Washington County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Washington 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 160 people on an average day, up from about 86 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 212 beds, and it is running at 77 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 Washington County Sheriff's Office at washingtoncountyga.gov/188/Jail-Information (page title: Jail Information | Washington County, GA), phone 866-345-1884, 733 Kaolin Road Sandersville, GA 31082, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 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 Washington County
For Washington County the place to look is the case index of the Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 866-345-1884.
- An arrest in Sandersville, Davisboro or Oconee: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Washington County Board of Education: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Washington 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 Washington County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for three of the seven cities in Washington County: Sandersville, Davisboro and Oconee. Tennille, Harrison, Deepstep and Riddleville have 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 Washington County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Washington County each year?
Oconee reported 1,152 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,222 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Washington County?
Ask the Washington County Sheriff's Office at 866-345-1884; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at washingtoncountyga.gov/188/Jail-Information.
Where are people arrested in Washington County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Washington County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Washington 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 Washington County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Washington 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 Washington 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.