Lumpkin County 72 Hour Booking Search
Lumpkin County 72 hour booking records are kept by the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office in Dahlonega. This north Georgia mountain county does not have an online inmate search, so you will need to call or visit the office to get booking details.
Lumpkin County Quick Facts
Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office
Sheriff Stacy Jarrard runs the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office. The office is at 385 E Main St, Dahlonega, GA 30533. You can call them at 706-864-0414. This is the main number for all booking questions, arrest details, and custody checks. Staff will let you know if someone is being held and what charges they face.
Lumpkin County does not have an online inmate search. Booking inquiries go through the phone or in person. Call during business hours and the front desk can look up current inmates. They can share names, charges, bond amounts, and booking dates. After hours, dispatch picks up and can answer basic questions about who is in the jail.
Dahlonega is the county seat. It is a college town, home to the University of North Georgia, and a popular tourist destination in the north Georgia mountains. That combination means the sheriff's office deals with a mix of local cases, student-related incidents, and issues tied to visitors. DUI arrests go up during fall leaf season and special events like Gold Rush Days. The curvy mountain roads in Lumpkin County also contribute to traffic-related arrests year round.
All arrests in the county go through the jail in Dahlonega. That includes arrests by sheriff's deputies, Dahlonega police, university police, and state troopers. The booking process is the same no matter which agency made the arrest. Walk-in visits to the sheriff's office are welcome. It is right on Main Street in the middle of town and easy to find.
How the 72 Hour Booking Rule Works in Lumpkin County
Georgia law sets strict deadlines for getting an arrested person in front of a judge. O.C.G.A. § 17-4-26 says anyone arrested on a warrant must appear before a judge within 72 hours. This is where the "72 hour booking" phrase comes from. The timer starts when the arrest is made.
Arrests without a warrant follow a shorter clock. O.C.G.A. § 17-4-62 requires the hearing to happen within 48 hours. This applies when a deputy makes an arrest on the scene without having gotten a warrant first. In Lumpkin County, this happens during traffic stops, during calls about fights or disturbances, and sometimes during events in Dahlonega when crowds are larger.
First appearance hearings take place at the Lumpkin County courthouse in Dahlonega. A judge reads the charges, explains the person's rights, and sets bond. Weekend arrests may push the hearing to Monday. The 72 hour and 48 hour clocks do not stop running, though. Lumpkin County judges schedule hearings as needed to meet the deadlines.
If the hearing does not happen on time, the person can petition for release. That does not end the case or drop the charges. It just means the court did not meet the time limit required by Georgia law. In Lumpkin County, the small size of the system usually keeps things running on time. The courthouse is close to the jail, and the caseload is manageable.
Lumpkin County 72 Hour Booking Records and Public Access
Booking records in Lumpkin County are public under the Georgia Open Records Act. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 gives anyone the right to request government documents, and that includes arrest reports and booking data. You do not have to explain why you want them. The sheriff's office has three business days to respond.
Call 706-864-0414 or stop by the office on Main Street. You can ask for arrest reports, booking forms, and charge records. There may be a small fee for copies. For quick questions about who is currently in custody, the phone is the fastest option.
Booking photos are covered by O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19. This law says law enforcement cannot give booking photos to someone who will post them on a website that charges people for removal. The law was created to stop mugshot extortion sites. The photo itself is still a public record. If you make a proper open records request and your plan does not violate the statute, the sheriff's office can release it to you.
The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search covers cases from Lumpkin County that ended in a state prison sentence.
GDC is free and shows where the person is housed, sentence details, and expected release dates. It only covers people in state custody, not anyone still sitting in the Lumpkin County jail.
State Resources for Lumpkin County Bookings
The Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) is the statewide criminal history database managed by the GBI. You can reach them at 404-244-2639. A GCIC check pulls up arrests and convictions from across Georgia, not just Lumpkin County. This is the way to go if you want a complete picture of someone's record in the state.
The VINE notification system lets you track a specific inmate for free. Sign up for phone, text, or email alerts. VINE will notify you when the person is released, moved, or has a court date. It covers Lumpkin County and most other Georgia jails. The phone number for VINE is 833-216-6670. This saves you from having to call the jail every day to check on status changes.
The Georgia Sheriffs' Association has a directory of every sheriff in the state. It is handy for confirming Sheriff Jarrard's contact info or for looking up neighboring counties if an arrest might have happened across a county line.
With the local sheriff, GDC, GCIC, and VINE, you can follow a Lumpkin County arrest from the first 72 hours all the way through the court system and into state prison if it goes that far.
72 Hour Booking Record Restriction in Lumpkin County
Georgia law provides a way to restrict arrest records when a case ends in the person's favor. O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 covers record restriction. If charges were dropped, dismissed, or the person was acquitted, they can petition for restriction. That means the booking record will not show on standard background checks. The record remains in the system but is locked from public view.
The First Offender Act under O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60 is another option. A judge can sentence someone as a first offender when they have no prior felony convictions. Completing the sentence without issues results in the conviction being sealed. A Lumpkin County booking that ended with a first offender sentence may not come up on records searches after that.
To start the restriction process in Lumpkin County, work with the court that handled the case. The clerk's office at the Lumpkin County courthouse in Dahlonega can point you to the right forms and tell you the filing fees. It takes a few weeks for the restriction to go into effect in all state databases. Law enforcement and certain employers can still see restricted records, but the general public cannot.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Lumpkin County in the north Georgia mountains. If an arrest happened near a county line, check with the neighboring sheriff's offices. The mountain roads make it easy to cross from one county to the next without even knowing it.