Polk County 72 Hour Booking Records

Polk County 72 hour booking records are held by the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Cedartown. If you need to find someone who was recently arrested or check if a person is in the county jail, you will need to call the sheriff's office since there is no online inmate search tool for Polk County.

Polk County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Johnny Moats leads the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The office is at 1676 Rockmart Hwy, Cedartown, GA 30125. Call 770-749-2901 for booking questions, charges, and bond amounts. The sheriff's office runs law enforcement and jail operations for all of Polk County.

Polk County does not offer an online jail roster or inmate search. You have to call or go in person to get booking info. When you phone the office, give the full name of the person you want to ask about. Jail staff will look them up and tell you if they are in custody, what they are charged with, and what the bond is. Walk-in visits work during regular hours at the Rockmart Highway office.

Polk County sits in northwest Georgia. Cedartown is the county seat. Rockmart is the other main city. Both towns have their own police departments, but all jail bookings go through the county sheriff's office. If Cedartown police or Rockmart police make an arrest, the person still ends up at the Polk County jail for processing. Deputies also make arrests across the unincorporated parts of the county, and those go through the same booking system.

The county has a mix of small-town areas and rural land. The sheriff's office covers all of it. Booking activity stays steady because of the two cities and the highway traffic that runs through the county. Drug cases, DUI arrests, theft, and domestic calls make up a big part of what comes through the jail each week.

How 72 Hour Booking Works in Polk County

Georgia law puts time limits on how long a person can be held in jail before seeing a judge. Under O.C.G.A. § 17-4-26, anyone arrested on a warrant must appear before a judge within 72 hours. That is the 72 hour booking rule. The clock starts at the moment of arrest, not when the paperwork gets done at the Polk County jail.

Warrantless arrests follow a shorter timeline. O.C.G.A. § 17-4-62 requires a probable cause hearing within 48 hours. This covers arrests made on the spot. If a deputy pulls someone over and arrests them for DUI, or if officers respond to a domestic call and make an arrest, the 48 hour rule applies. The Polk County magistrate court schedules hearings to stay within these deadlines.

First appearance hearings are held at the Polk County courthouse in Cedartown. The judge reads the charges, explains the person's rights, and may set bond. Weekend arrests can push timing close to the limit. A Friday night arrest on a warrant means the hearing must happen by Monday night at the latest. Polk County magistrate judges work to meet these deadlines for every arrest.

Keep in mind that the 72 hour and 48 hour rules only apply to the first appearance. Bond hearings, preliminary hearings, and trial dates come at later stages. The first appearance is about making sure the person knows the charges and can ask the court about bond.

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search tracks people who have been sent to state prison after a county-level booking:

If a Polk County arrest leads to a state prison sentence, this free tool shows the inmate's current facility, sentence length, and release date.

Public Access to Polk County 72 Hour Booking Records

Booking records in Polk County are public. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, the Georgia Open Records Act, gives anyone the right to ask for government records without saying why. The sheriff's office must respond within three business days. Copy fees may apply for printed documents. Phone questions about who is currently in jail are usually answered for free.

Call 770-749-2901 or visit the sheriff's office on Rockmart Highway to make a request. You can ask for arrest reports, booking records, and charge lists. Written requests work best when you need formal copies. Include the person's name and a date range to help staff find the right files faster.

Booking photos have some extra rules under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19. This law says agencies cannot give booking photos to people who plan to post them on websites that charge for removal. The photos are still public records. An open records request can get you a copy as long as you are not using it for a mugshot site.

Georgia Statewide 72 Hour Booking Resources

The Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) handles statewide criminal history checks. GCIC is part of the GBI. Call 404-244-2639 for information. A GCIC background check pulls arrest and conviction data from every county in Georgia, not just Polk County. This gives you a broader view of someone's criminal record.

The VINE notification system lets you track inmates after booking. Register for free alerts by phone, text, or email. VINE will notify you when someone is released, moved, or has a court date coming up. The phone number is 833-216-6670. The service covers Polk County and most other Georgia counties.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association directory lists every sheriff in the state with phone numbers and addresses:

This is a quick way to find the right office if your search goes past Polk County.

Record Restriction in Polk County

Georgia allows certain arrest records to be restricted after a case is over. O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 says if charges are dropped, dismissed, or the person is found not guilty, they can apply to have the record restricted. A restricted record does not show on most background checks. The record still exists, but the public cannot see it.

O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60 is the First Offender Act. If a judge sentences someone as a first offender and they complete the sentence without problems, the conviction is sealed. A Polk County booking that led to a first offender sentence may not turn up on standard records checks down the road.

To start the process, file with the court that handled the case. The Polk County Clerk of Court in Cedartown can help with forms. Filing fees apply. It takes several weeks for the restriction to go through. Law enforcement retains access to restricted records, but the public does not.

Cities in Polk County

Polk County includes Cedartown, the county seat, and Rockmart. Both cities have their own police departments, but all jail bookings go through the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Aragon and Braswell are smaller communities in the county. Arrests in any part of Polk County are processed through the same booking system at the sheriff's office.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Polk County. If you are not sure where an arrest took place, check the neighboring sheriff's offices. An arrest near a county line could end up in a different jail.