Columbia County Busted Mugshots and Detention Records

Columbia County is one of Georgia's fastest-growing counties, sitting just west of Augusta in the Augusta metro area, and finding busted mugshots or arrest records here now requires contacting the Columbia County Sheriff's Office directly after the county removed its online inmate list. The detention center in Appling holds all county arrests, and you can call or visit in person to look up someone currently in custody.

Columbia County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office runs the county's detention center at 2273 County Camp Rd in Appling, GA 30802. The detention center phone is 706-541-0754. The main sheriff's website is at columbiacountyso.org. This is your primary contact point for finding information about current Columbia County arrests and booking records.

The sheriff's office has posted a notice stating that the list of inmates currently in custody is no longer available on its website. To find out if someone is in custody, you have two options: visit the detention center at 2273 County Camp Rd in person, or call 706-541-0754 directly. Staff can confirm custody status and basic booking information over the phone during business hours. For more detailed records or copies of arrest reports, the open records request process is the next step.

Columbia County is a bedroom community for Augusta and has grown rapidly over the past two decades. Despite being the county seat, Appling is a small town. The more populated communities of Evans and Martinez both sit within Columbia County and contribute a significant share of local law enforcement activity. Arrests in Evans and Martinez are handled by Columbia County Sheriff deputies and taken to the detention center in Appling.

Grovetown Inmate Processing in Columbia County

In addition to the main detention center in Appling, the city of Grovetown uses the Columbia County Detention Center to house people arrested on misdemeanor traffic charges, city ordinance violations, and those serving time after sentencing in Grovetown Municipal Court. These inmates are part of the Columbia County jail population and can be reached through the same detention center contact number. Bond types accepted for Grovetown inmates include cash, property, and bondsman bonds. For Grovetown-specific booking questions, the city contact number is 706-541-1042.

This arrangement is common in Georgia, where smaller cities without their own holding facilities use the county detention center. It means Columbia County busted mugshots and arrest records cover not just sheriff arrests but also city police arrests from communities like Grovetown that route their detainees through the county system.

Note: The Columbia County Sheriff's Office no longer posts a live inmate roster on its website. Call 706-541-0754 to check custody status or visit the detention center at 2273 County Camp Rd, Appling, GA 30802.

Open Records Requests for Columbia County Arrest Data

Georgia's Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 covers all records held by Columbia County law enforcement. Arrest reports, booking documents, and incident records are generally public. Agencies must respond within three business days. The first 15 minutes of staff search time is free. The first 20 copied pages are also free. Pages beyond that can cost up to $0.10 each.

To request Columbia County arrest records, contact the sheriff's office at columbiacountyso.org or call 706-541-0754. For records held at the state level, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation handles requests through its open records portal. The GBI's GCIC division collects criminal history data from all Georgia counties, including Columbia County.

Georgia Statewide Records Tools for Columbia County

With no public inmate list on the county website, statewide tools become more important for Columbia County record searches. The Georgia Department of Corrections Offender Query is free and shows people who passed through the state prison system, with photos shown automatically. The Georgia Felon Search costs $15 and gives instant GCIC results for felony conviction history.

For sex offender information covering Columbia County, the GBI Sex Offender Registry is searchable by name, address, city, or zip code. The registry is maintained by the GBI and covers registrants statewide. Georgia law under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19 bars law enforcement from posting booking photos publicly on their own sites, which is one reason the Columbia County Sheriff does not post photos online even when inmate roster data was still available.

Mugshot Removal Rights for Columbia County Arrests

Georgia's mugshot removal law at O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5 applies to anyone arrested in Columbia County whose booking photo ends up on a commercial website. If the arrest is eligible for record restriction, you can demand free removal by sending a certified letter to the website. The letter must include your full name, date of birth, the date of arrest, and the name of the arresting agency (Columbia County Sheriff or the relevant city police). The site has 30 days to remove the photo and cannot charge a fee.

For complaints about commercial sites that ignore removal requests or charge unauthorized fees, contact the Georgia Consumer Protection Division at consumer.georgia.gov. This law applies only to third-party commercial websites. Government databases like GCIC operate under different rules and are not subject to the 30-day removal requirement.

The GBI's Georgia Crime Information Center collects data from all counties, including Columbia. The screenshot below shows the GBI's offender query tool, which can locate state prison records for people who served time beyond the county level.

The Georgia DOC offender query at services.gdc.ga.gov covers state prison inmates and complements local Columbia County sheriff records when someone has moved through the state system.

Cities in Columbia County

Evans and Martinez are the largest communities in Columbia County and both qualify for their own pages on this site. Both are unincorporated communities rather than chartered cities, but their populations put them over the threshold.

Nearby Counties

Columbia County borders several East Georgia counties. Richmond County includes the city of Augusta and is directly adjacent.