Search Pickens County Busted Mugshots

Pickens County is a north Georgia mountain county with Jasper as its county seat and a population of about 32,600 people. If you want to search Pickens County busted mugshots, arrest records, or inmate booking data, the Pickens County Sheriff's Office in Jasper is the primary local source. This page covers how to access county jail records, what Georgia law says about booking photos, and which statewide tools can extend your search.

Pickens County Sheriff Arrest Records and Inmate Data

The Pickens County Sheriff's Office in Jasper handles all arrests, bookings, and jail operations for the county. When someone is arrested in Pickens County, the booking creates an official record with the person's name, charges, booking date, bond amount, and arresting agency. These records are public under Georgia's Open Records Act and can be requested through the sheriff's office.

Pickens County has grown steadily as part of the north Georgia mountains region. The county lies about 60 miles north of Atlanta, and its proximity to Cherokee County and the metro fringe means the sheriff's office handles a notable volume of bookings each year. To check on a current inmate or confirm a recent arrest in Pickens County, contacting the sheriff's office in Jasper directly is often the fastest route. For certified arrest record copies, submit a written open records request.

Booking records in Pickens County show the state of an arrest at the time of booking, not the outcome of the case. Someone appearing in Pickens County arrest records was booked into the jail following an arrest. Charges can change as a case moves through the Pickens County Superior Court or Magistrate Court. Case outcomes, including acquittals or dismissals, appear in separate court records, not the jail roster. Always check court records if you need conviction information.

The screenshot below shows the Georgia statute page for O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19, the Georgia law that prohibits Pickens County and all other Georgia law enforcement agencies from posting booking photos online.

This statute is why the Pickens County Sheriff's Office does not post mugshots online, even though arrest records themselves remain public under the Georgia Open Records Act.

Georgia Mugshot Laws and Pickens County Booking Photos

Georgia law governs how Pickens County busted mugshots can be accessed and shared. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19, Georgia law enforcement agencies cannot post booking photos on the internet. The Pickens County Sheriff's Office does not display mugshots on any public website. Arrest records, inmate data, and custody status are accessible under state law, but photo posting by the agency is prohibited statewide.

For Pickens County booking photos that appear on commercial mugshot websites, Georgia's O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5 provides a removal process. Those commercial sites must remove photos free of charge within 30 days of a certified mail request if the underlying arrest record qualifies for restriction. The Georgia Consumer Protection Division explains how to make a compliant request and which categories of sites are covered. The law focuses on sites that charge for removal, not news outlets or non-commercial publishers.

The Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, gives you the right to formally access records held by the Pickens County Sheriff. Agencies must respond within three business days. The first 15 minutes of staff time and first 20 pages of copies are free. Pages beyond 20 cost $0.10 each. A written request to the Pickens County Sheriff is how you access certified arrest records or booking photos through official channels.

Georgia's mugshot statutes create a clear framework for accessing Pickens County arrest data and addressing commercial misuse of booking photos.

Statewide Georgia Tools for Pickens County Arrest Records

State-level databases extend a Pickens County arrest record search well beyond the local jail roster. These are maintained by Georgia agencies and available to the public.

The Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC), run by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, holds statewide criminal history data including Pickens County records. The Georgia Felon Search at georgia.gov costs $15 and returns instant felony conviction data. It covers Pickens County felony records along with those from every other Georgia county, making it a fast option for checking prior felony history without filing a formal open records request.

The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search is free and covers state prison inmates. If someone was convicted in Pickens County and sent to a GDC facility, their record and photo appear in this database. People in the local Pickens County jail are not covered by the GDC system, so you may need to search both if you are uncertain of a person's current housing status.

The screenshot below shows the Georgia Department of Corrections find-an-offender page, a free tool covering state prison inmates including those sentenced in Pickens County.

The GDC search is free and includes photos, making it a key resource for finding Pickens County defendants who have been transferred to state prison after conviction.

Pickens County Open Records and Sex Offender Registry

To formally access Pickens County arrest records or booking photos, submit a written open records request to the Pickens County Sheriff's Office in Jasper. Include the subject's full name, date of birth, and any booking or case number you have. The sheriff's office must respond within three business days under state law. For records the GBI holds on a Pickens County subject, use the GBI online records request portal.

The Georgia Sex Offender Registry, maintained by the GBI, is a free tool for searching registered offenders in Pickens County by name or address. The registry includes photos and is updated regularly. It covers people required to register after serving their sentence, not current jail inmates. Use it alongside the Pickens County jail search as part of a complete arrest record search.

The screenshot below shows the GBI sex offender registry information page, a statewide public tool that covers registered offenders in Pickens County and all Georgia jurisdictions.

The GBI sex offender registry is free to search and includes photos. You can look up registered offenders in Pickens County by name or by address using this tool.

Cities in Pickens County

Jasper is the county seat and largest city in Pickens County. Nelson and Ball Ground (which straddles the Cherokee County border) are other communities in the area. However, no city in Pickens County reaches the population threshold for a dedicated page. All busted mugshots and arrest records for Pickens County are handled by the Pickens County Sheriff's Office.

Nearby Counties

Pickens County borders several north Georgia counties, each with its own arrest record resources and inmate search tools.