Webster County Busted Mugshots and Arrest Record Search

Webster County is one of Georgia's smallest counties by population, located in southwest Georgia with its county seat in Preston, and the Webster County Sheriff's Office handles all local arrests and maintains the booking records and busted mugshots for the county. If you want to find Webster County arrest records or look up someone detained in this area, the sheriff's office is the primary contact and the statewide Georgia tools on this page offer additional ways to search criminal history connected to Webster County cases.

Webster County Sheriff Booking Records and Arrest Data

The Webster County Sheriff's Office in Preston is the law enforcement and detention authority for the county. With just over 2,600 residents, Webster is one of the least populous counties in Georgia. The jail sees a low volume of bookings as a result. But the legal requirements for record-keeping are the same as in any Georgia county. Booking records are created at the time of each arrest and maintained as public records. Anyone can request to inspect them at the sheriff's office during normal business hours.

Webster County busted mugshots are taken at booking. State law prohibits the sheriff from posting these photos on a public website, so there is no web gallery for Webster County arrest photos. To get a booking photo or a copy of an arrest record, submit a written open records request to the Webster County Sheriff's Office in Preston. Include the person's name and approximate arrest date. Under the Georgia Open Records Act, the office must respond within three business days. The first 15 minutes of staff search time and first 20 pages of copies are provided at no cost.

Webster County is part of the Pataula Judicial Circuit, which covers Webster, Terrell, Clay, Early, Miller, and Seminole counties. The circuit court clerk in Preston handles superior court filings for Webster County. These include felony indictments, arraignments, pleas, and judgments. Court records and booking records are separate. If you want to know what happened after an arrest in Webster County at the court level, the superior court clerk's office is the right place to ask.

The screenshot below shows the GBI agency homepage, the central resource for statewide criminal history checks and the open records system used for Webster County and all other Georgia counties.

The GBI provides the statewide tools needed to search for criminal history connected to Webster County cases, including GCIC checks and open records requests.

Georgia Statutes That Apply to Webster County Arrest Records

Three Georgia laws govern how Webster County busted mugshots and arrest records are handled. First is O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19, enacted in 2014, which makes it illegal for law enforcement agencies to post booking photos online. Webster County Sheriff cannot publish mugshots on its website or social media. Booking photos exist and are public records, but getting them requires a formal request rather than a web search.

Second is O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5, which regulates private mugshot websites. These sites aggregate arrest photos from various public sources and sometimes charge fees for removal. Under this 2013 Georgia law, any company publishing a booking photo must remove it free of charge within 30 days of a certified mail request when the arrest qualifies for restriction. The Georgia Consumer Protection Division has a page explaining exactly how to request removal and which companies are covered. Even for a county as small as Webster, this law applies to any site that posts a local booking photo.

Third is the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70. This gives any person the right to inspect and request copies of public records from Georgia government agencies. Agencies must respond within three business days. The first 15 minutes of search time and first 20 pages of copies are free. This law is the foundation for any public records request you make to Webster County Sheriff or any other county agency.

Statewide Tools for Webster County Criminal History Searches

Given Webster County's small size, statewide tools are often the most practical way to conduct a broader criminal history search. The Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC), run by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, holds criminal history data for all Georgia counties. Arrests made in Webster County are reported to GCIC and appear in history checks. You can request a statewide history report through the GBI. This gives you a full picture of someone's record across all Georgia counties rather than just Webster.

The Georgia Felon Search charges $15 and returns instant felony conviction data statewide. For state prison inmates from Webster County convictions, the free Georgia Department of Corrections offender search shows records with photos. The Georgia Sex Offender Registry includes Webster County registrants and is searchable by name or address. The GBI's open records portal handles formal requests for state-level records connected to Webster County cases.

The screenshot below shows the Georgia felon search direct service page, one of the faster ways to check for prior felony records tied to Webster County.

The felon search covers all Georgia counties and returns results quickly for anyone with a felony conviction from Webster County or elsewhere in the state.

Cities in Webster County

Webster County includes Preston and is largely rural with no other incorporated cities of significant size. Preston does not meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. For Webster County busted mugshots and arrest records, contact the sheriff's office directly or use the Georgia statewide resources listed on this page.

Nearby Counties

Webster County borders eight other southwest Georgia counties. Each county maintains its own arrest records and inmate booking data.