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.
White County, Georgia, has about 30,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the White 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 White 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: White County public records, Georgia arrest records, Georgia inmate search and Georgia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in White County
The White County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for White County. It reported 329 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside two 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:
- Cleveland, 3,583 residents: 82 arrests reported for 2025.
- Helen, 630 residents: 95 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 White 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.
- White County Sheriff's Office: 329 for 2025, 148 for 2023, 135 for 2022, 118 for 2021, 209 for 2020 and 378 for 2019; 2024 is missing months.
- Helen: 95 for 2025, 158 for 2023, 163 for 2022, 209 for 2021 and 185 for 2019; 2020 and 2024 are missing months.
- Cleveland: 82 for 2025, 128 for 2024, 146 for 2023, 138 for 2022 and 116 for 2020; 2021 is missing months.
Together, the three agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 506 arrests that year. The one of them with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 82 in 2025 against 128 in 2024, down 36 percent.
Through April 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 161 arrests, against 170 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in White County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in White 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 100 people on an average day, down from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity is 176 beds, and it is running at 57 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 White County Sheriff's Office at whitecountyga.gov/169/Sheriffs-Office (page title: Sheriff's Office | White County, GA), phone (706) 865-5177, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 White County
For White County the place to look is the case index of the White 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 White 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 White County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (706) 865-5177.
- An arrest in Cleveland or Helen: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the White 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 whitecountyga.gov/561/Open-Records-Request (page title: Open Records Request | White County, GA).
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request through Georgia Applicant Processing Services.
Cities in White County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the two cities in White County: Cleveland and Helen.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the White County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in White County each year?
The White County Sheriff's Office reported 329 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the three agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 506 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in White County?
Ask the White County Sheriff's Office at (706) 865-5177; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at whitecountyga.gov/169/Sheriffs-Office.
Where are people arrested in White County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the White County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in White 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 White County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the White 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 whitecountyga.gov/561/Open-Records-Request.
Is this the official White 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.