Access Heard County Jail Roster

The Heard County jail roster lists all inmates at the county detention center in Franklin, Georgia. Heard County is a small, mostly rural county in west Georgia near the Alabama state line. The Heard County Sheriff's Office manages the jail and posts booking information as new arrests come in. You can search for inmates online or contact the sheriff's office for help. Franklin is the county seat and where all jail roster records for Heard County originate. The jail takes bookings from the sheriff's deputies and the few local police agencies in the area.

Heard County Sheriff's Office

The Heard County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency for the county. The office runs out of Franklin and handles patrol, investigations, court duties, and the detention center. Heard County covers about 296 square miles of mostly rural land in west Georgia. With a population around 12,000, the county is on the smaller side. The sheriff's office has a limited staff but still handles all the same duties as larger counties. Anyone arrested by a Heard County deputy gets booked into the jail and appears on the Heard County jail roster.

Heard County falls in the Coweta Judicial Circuit along with Carroll, Coweta, Meriwether, and Troup counties. That is a large circuit with five counties. Superior Court cases from the Heard County jail go through the courthouse in Franklin. Bond hearings happen in Magistrate Court. The circuit shares judges and a district attorney across all five counties. Cases on the Heard County jail roster that get bound over to superior court are tracked by the clerk of court in Franklin.

Find Heard County Jail Roster Records

There are a few ways to look up who is in the Heard County jail. Online tools pull booking data from the county and post it on the web. You search by name and see current inmates along with their charges and booking dates. This is free and works from any device. Because Heard County is small, the jail roster is typically short, which makes finding a name easier.

Online data may not be instant. In a small county like Heard, someone could bond out before the web tool updates. Call the sheriff's office in Franklin for the most current jail roster info. Staff can check the system by phone and let you know who is in custody right now.

Note: Heard County jail roster data online may lag behind actual bookings and releases.

Heard County State Inmate Records

The Heard County jail roster only tracks people at the local detention center. State prison inmates are in a separate system. The Georgia Department of Corrections runs a free offender search for anyone in a state facility. Type in the first four letters of the last name. Set the query to all offenders. The tool shows the inmate's name, GDC ID, facility, and tentative release date.

People who went through Georgia's First Offender Act under O.C.G.A. Section 42-8-66 will not show in the GDC results. Once someone sentenced in Heard County gets moved to state prison, they leave the local jail roster. The GDC facility directory shows all state prisons and transitional centers. You can call the GDC at (404) 656-4661 for help finding state inmates from Heard County.

VINE Alerts for Heard County

VINE is a free service that tracks jail roster changes across Georgia. You sign up for alerts and get told when an inmate in Heard County is released, transferred, or has a status change. It runs all day and night. It is private. No one finds out you are tracking someone.

Go to VINELink or call 1-800-398-2892 to register for Heard County jail alerts. You need the inmate's name or booking ID. Choose phone, email, or text alerts. A live person is on call at all times if you need help. The TTY line is 1-866-847-1298 for hearing impaired callers. VINE works in more than one language and covers most Georgia counties, Heard County included.

Heard County Jail Open Records

Georgia law gives you the right to ask for jail data from Heard County. Under O.C.G.A. Section 50-18-70, most booking records are open to the public. Send a written request to the Heard County Sheriff's Office in Franklin. The law requires a response within three business days. The first 15 minutes of staff search time are free. After that, the county can bill based on the hourly rate of the lowest paid worker who can pull the records. Copies cost $0.10 per page.

Agencies that deny valid requests face fines under O.C.G.A. Section 50-18-74. Up to $1,000 for the first offense and $2,500 for each repeat within a year. Basic jail roster info is nearly always public. Names, charges, and booking dates are available. Security plans, medical files, and employee personal data are exempt. The GDC open records page handles state prison data requests separately.

Criminal History in Heard County

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation manages criminal history records at the state level through the GCIC. Arrest data from the Heard County jail flows into this system. Under O.C.G.A. Section 35-3-37, you can check your own criminal record for a fee of up to $15. Fingerprinting costs are extra. If you spot errors, the GCIC takes correction requests.

Heard County jail roster records can be restricted over time. Misdemeanor arrests with no outcome get restricted after two years. Non-violent felonies without a disposition get restricted after four years. Serious violent crimes wait seven years. When the GCIC restricts a record, the Heard County jail must follow within 30 days of a written request. This protects people who appeared on the jail roster but were never convicted. Charges that were dropped, dismissed, or led to a not guilty verdict qualify for restriction.

Nearby County Jail Rosters

Heard County is in west Georgia close to the Alabama border. If you are not sure which county an arrest went through, check the neighboring jails listed here.