Access Richmond County Released Inmates

Richmond County released inmates records are available through the Sheriff's Office in Augusta. As a consolidated city-county government, Richmond County and Augusta share services, and the sheriff's office runs one of the largest jail operations in the state with an online inmate inquiry tool that lets you search booking and release data from your computer.

Richmond County Sheriff's Office Inmate Inquiry

The Richmond County Sheriff's Office is the primary source for released inmates records in the Augusta area. Sheriff Richard Roundtree heads the office, which is based at 400 Walton Way in Augusta, GA 30901. The phone number is (706) 821-1000. This is a large operation. Richmond County and Augusta consolidated their government, so the sheriff's office covers the entire metro area. The jail at 1941 Phinizy Road handles a high volume of bookings every day.

The sheriff's office runs an online inmate inquiry tool. You can search it at richmondcountysheriffsoffice.com/inmate-inquiry.cfm. Type in a name and the system pulls up booking records. It shows charges, bond amounts, booking dates, and release dates for people who have been through the Richmond County jail. This is the fastest way to look up released inmates without making a phone call or visiting the office in person.

The online tool is free. It runs around the clock. You do not need an account to use it. Just type a last name and first name and hit search. Results come back right away. The tool covers current inmates and recently released people. For older records that might not show up online, you can call the jail at (706) 821-1000 or file an open records request with the sheriff's office.

The Richmond County Sheriff's Office inmate inquiry page gives the public direct access to booking records.

This search tool lets you look up current and released inmates from the Richmond County jail by name.

Richmond County Jail at Phinizy Road

The Richmond County jail sits at 1941 Phinizy Road in Augusta. This is a major detention facility. It handles all bookings for arrests made in Richmond County by sheriff's deputies, Augusta police, and other law enforcement agencies operating in the area. The jail processes hundreds of people each week. That means the released inmates log is long and gets added to daily.

When someone is booked in, staff create a record with the person's name, date of birth, physical description, charges, arresting agency, and bond amount. A booking photo goes on file. All of this data is part of the public record under Georgia's Open Records Act, laid out in O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70. Once the person leaves, whether through bond, case dismissal, transfer, or sentence completion, the release date and method get added to the record.

The jail also handles inmates awaiting trial in the Augusta Judicial Circuit. People charged with felonies in Richmond County sit in this jail until their case moves through superior court. Some stay for weeks. Some for months. The booking record tracks the full time they were held. When they are finally released or transferred, that info goes into the system and becomes searchable through the sheriff's inmate inquiry tool.

Open Records Requests in Richmond County

You can file a formal open records request with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office to get released inmates data. This is useful for older records that might not show up on the online search tool. Georgia law under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 gives the public a right to see most government records, and that includes jail booking logs.

Put your request in writing. Include the inmate's name, date of birth if you have it, and what records you need. Send it to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office at 400 Walton Way, Augusta, GA 30901. You can also try calling (706) 821-1000 to ask about the process. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, the office must respond within three business days. They can charge for copies. The first 15 minutes of staff time is free. After that, fees for labor and materials apply.

Richmond County handles a lot of records requests. The office has procedures in place for this. Staff are used to processing these. Just make sure your request is clear and specific. The more details you give, the faster they can find what you need. Vague requests take longer because staff have to search through more files to figure out what you are looking for in the Richmond County released inmates records.

Georgia State Resources for Richmond County

State databases cover inmates who went beyond the county jail system. The Georgia Department of Corrections at gdc.georgia.gov tracks people in state prisons. Richmond County sends a significant number of people to state facilities each year because of the size of its population. You can look up any state inmate at gdc.georgia.gov/offender-info/find-offender. The search is free and covers current inmates and people who have been released from state custody.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles at pap.georgia.gov handles parole decisions. If a released inmate from Richmond County is on parole after serving time in state prison, this board sets the rules they must follow. The Department of Community Supervision at dcs.georgia.gov does the day-to-day monitoring of people on probation and parole. They have a strong presence in the Augusta area given the size of the population in Richmond County.

O.C.G.A. § 42-9-53 governs how the state handles release and parole data. The GBI processes criminal history checks under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 through their office at gbi.georgia.gov. A statewide background check pulls records from Richmond County and every other county in Georgia. It is a good tool when you need a complete picture of someone's criminal history, not just what happened in one county.

Augusta-Richmond Consolidated Government

Richmond County and Augusta merged their governments in 1996. This means the sheriff serves both the city and the county. There is no separate city jail or city police booking facility. Everything runs through the Richmond County Sheriff's Office. If someone gets arrested by Augusta police, they go to the same jail on Phinizy Road. The booking records are all in one system.

This actually makes searching for released inmates in the Augusta area easier. You only need to check one source. The sheriff's online inmate inquiry at richmondcountysheriffsoffice.com/inmate-inquiry.cfm covers arrests by all agencies working in Richmond County. You do not need to call different departments or check multiple sites. One search covers it all.

The Augusta Judicial Circuit handles superior court cases for Richmond County. If a released inmate had a felony case, the court records are with the clerk of superior court. The Augusta Circuit also covers Burke and Columbia counties, so cases from those areas run through the same judicial system. But jail records stay with each county's sheriff. If you want Richmond County released inmates data specifically, the Richmond County Sheriff's Office is the place to go.

Cities in Richmond County

Augusta is the main city in Richmond County and the only one above the population threshold for a dedicated page on this site. All jail bookings in Richmond County, regardless of which city the arrest took place in, go through the sheriff's office.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Richmond County in east-central Georgia. Each has its own sheriff and jail system for released inmates records.