Search Putnam County 72 Hour Booking Records

Putnam County 72 hour booking records are kept by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office in Eatonton. This is a mid-size rural county in central Georgia with no online inmate search tool, so checking on a recent arrest means calling the sheriff's office or going in person.

Putnam County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Howard Sills runs the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. The mailing address is PO Box 3637, Eatonton, GA 31024. Call 706-485-8557 for booking and arrest questions. The staff can tell you if a person is in custody, what the charges are, and what bond has been set. This is the main number for all jail inquiries in the county.

Putnam County sits in central Georgia along Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair. The area draws seasonal visitors, and that means the sheriff's office deals with a mix of local arrests and incidents tied to the lake communities. All arrests in the county, whether they happen in Eatonton proper or out on the lake, run through the same Putnam County jail. The booking desk processes each person and creates a record that includes the charges, arresting officer, time of arrest, and personal details.

There is no online inmate search for Putnam County. You cannot look up current bookings from a website. The only way to check is to call 706-485-8557 or visit the office in Eatonton. After hours, dispatch can handle basic questions about who is in the jail. If you need a copy of an arrest report or the full booking sheet, you will need to ask at the office during business hours.

How 72 Hour Booking Works in Putnam County

Georgia law sets strict time limits on how long a person can sit in jail before seeing a judge. Under O.C.G.A. § 17-4-26, anyone arrested on a warrant must have a first appearance hearing within 72 hours. That is the basis for the term "72 hour booking." The clock begins at the time of arrest, not when the person arrives at the Putnam County jail.

Warrantless arrests follow a tighter rule. O.C.G.A. § 17-4-62 requires a probable cause hearing within 48 hours when there is no warrant. Deputies in Putnam County make these kinds of arrests fairly often, especially for DUI stops and domestic calls. The 48 hour limit gives the court less time to act, and missing it can lead to a motion for release.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association keeps a directory that lists the current sheriff and contact details for every county in the state, including Putnam County:

You can use this directory to verify the sheriff's name and office phone number for Putnam County or any nearby county.

First appearance hearings in Putnam County take place at the courthouse in Eatonton. The judge reads the charges and sets bond. Weekend arrests can push things close to the 72 hour line, but the county works to stay within it. Magistrate judges handle these hearings, and they can be scheduled quickly even on short notice. If the 72 hour mark passes without a hearing, the arrested person has grounds to ask for release, though judges in small counties like Putnam typically stay on top of the schedule.

Putnam County 72 Hour Booking Public Access

Booking records in Putnam County are public under Georgia law. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 is the Georgia Open Records Act. It gives anyone the right to request government records, and that includes arrest reports and booking data. You do not have to say why you want the records. The sheriff's office must respond within three business days of getting your request.

To get records from Putnam County, call 706-485-8557 or go to the sheriff's office in Eatonton. You can ask for arrest reports, the booking sheet, charge details, and bond information. Written copies may come with a small printing fee. Most basic questions about who is in the jail can be handled over the phone at no cost.

Booking photos are covered by O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19. This law blocks law enforcement from giving booking photos to anyone who plans to post them on a website or in a publication that charges money to take them down. The photo is still part of the record. You can file an open records request for it, and the Putnam County Sheriff's Office will review your request before releasing it.

Georgia 72 Hour Booking Resources for Putnam County

Several statewide databases can help with a Putnam County arrest search. The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search lets you look up anyone who has been sentenced to state prison. If someone arrested in Putnam County was convicted and moved to a state facility, you can find them here. The search is free and shows current location, sentence length, and release dates.

The Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) runs through the GBI and handles criminal history checks. Call 404-244-2639 for questions. A GCIC background check pulls records from across all Georgia counties, not just Putnam. This is the route to take if you need a full history on someone rather than just the most recent booking.

The GDC offender search tool is shown below:

This database covers inmates in the state prison system. It does not show people who are still sitting in the Putnam County jail awaiting trial or sentencing.

The VINE notification system lets you sign up for alerts about an inmate. You can get a call, text, or email when their status changes. That includes release, transfer, or a court date. The VINE number is 833-216-6670. It covers Putnam County along with most other Georgia counties. This is useful if you need to know right away when someone gets out.

Record Restriction in Putnam County

Some Putnam County booking records can be restricted after a case ends. O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 covers this process. If the charges are dropped, dismissed, or the person is found not guilty, they can file to have the arrest record restricted. A restricted record will not appear on most standard background checks. The record still exists in the system, but public access gets cut off.

The First Offender Act under O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60 offers another path. A judge can sentence a person as a first offender if they have no prior felony record. Once the sentence is finished without problems, the record is sealed. A Putnam County booking that led to a first offender sentence may not show up in public searches down the road. To start the restriction process, contact the Putnam County Clerk of Superior Court in Eatonton. There are forms to fill out and fees to pay, and it can take several weeks for the restriction to take effect across state databases.

Keep in mind that restricted records are not gone for good. Law enforcement can still see them. Certain employers and licensing boards may have access too, depending on the type of check they run. But for everyday public searches, a restricted booking record in Putnam County will not come up.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Putnam County. If an arrest happened near a county line, the booking could be in a neighboring jail. Check with the right sheriff's office to find the person you are looking for.