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.
Wayne County, Georgia, has about 32,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and two 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 Wayne 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: Wayne County public records, Georgia arrest records, Georgia inmate search and Georgia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Wayne County
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Wayne County. It reported 622 arrests for 2023, its latest complete year.
The FBI lists two cities in Wayne County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population:
- Jesup, 10,235 residents.
- Screven, 821 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.
How Many Arrests The Wayne County Sheriff's Office Reports
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.
- Wayne County Sheriff's Office: 622 for 2023, 854 for 2022 and 666 for 2021.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wayne County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wayne 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 130 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 182 beds, and it is running at 88 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 Wayne County Sheriff's Office at wcsoga.com/inmate-inquiry.cfm (page title: Inmate Inquiry | Wayne County Sheriff's Offce), 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 Wayne County
An arrest in Wayne County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Wayne County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at waynecountyga.us/department/index.php?structureid=18, phone (912) 427-5930); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at waynecountyga.us/department/division.php?structureid=59, phone (912) 554-7200).
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 Wayne 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 Wayne County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Jesup or Screven: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (912) 554-7200, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Wayne County Superior Court, through the court records page at waynecountyga.us, phone (912) 427-5930.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request through Georgia Applicant Processing Services.
Cities in Wayne County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the three cities in Wayne County: Jesup and Screven. Odum 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 Wayne County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Wayne County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Jesup (10,235)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wayne County each year?
The Wayne County Sheriff's Office reported 622 arrests to the FBI for 2023.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Wayne County?
Ask the Wayne County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wcsoga.com/inmate-inquiry.cfm.
Where are people arrested in Wayne County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Wayne 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 Wayne County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wayne 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 Wayne 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.