Columbia County, GA Sheriff's Department, Jails and Offender Search

About the County  

Columbia County is in east central Georgia along the Savannah River. The area was part of Richmond County before Georgia Legislature intervened in 1790, drafting an Act to direct the formation of a new county. Authorities named it for Christopher Columbus, one of the area’s first explorers.  

During the early years, Columbia County had several representatives in national affairs. For instance, the area produced two out of the six delegates who attended the 1787 Philadelphia constitutional convention. These delegates, William Few Jr. and Abraham Baldwin, also served in the US Senate.  

New inhabitants began arriving in the area in the period preceding 1836 using the Georgia Rail Road. The new communities established cities, with Harlem and Grovetown flourishing during this period. The county seat, Appling, has existed since 1816 but lost part of its territory in 1993 by Georgia Legislature’s Act.  

In terms of population growth, the 2020 census results indicate that the county has 156,010 people, a 30.9% increase from 2010.  

About the County Sheriff’s Office 

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is the county’s primary law enforcement authority. The office’s mission is to protect the lives and properties of community members by eliminating crimes. The Sheriff is the office’s head and works to achieve this goal of community protection with the help of several divisions and units.  

The Community Services Division 

This division’s role is community sensitization on crime prevention techniques. It has several units that help it achieve its goal, including:  

The ATV Unit  

This unit comprises volunteers who give out equipment, usually All-Terrain Vehicles, helpful in law enforcement. The division uses this unit during searches and manhunts for missing individuals and transporting food supplies.  

Additionally, community members who volunteer to be part of the unit provide security and control various county parking spots, especially during events. The requirements for participation include:  

• Attendance to the Citizen Law Enforcement Academy  
• Willingness to Attend Meetings and Training Sessions 

Individuals interested in participating in the program can do so through this link.  

The Neighborhood Watch Program  

The Neighborhood Watch Program’s purpose is to allow community members to participate in crime prevention actively. They do so by organizing sensitization meetings and campaigns to show how community members can become the eyes of law enforcement.  

To participate in the Neighborhood Watch Program, contact the Community Services Division at (706) 541-2856 for registration and assistance.  

The Patrol Division  

The Patrol Division is the most visible division of the Sheriff’s Office and is responsible for providing community protection. A Captain heads the division and works with the help of 72 patrol officers and crossing guards. Additionally, there are four shifts within the division, with a Lieutenant running each shift with the help of Sergeants and Deputies.  

Some of the division’s law enforcement services include:  

• Patrolling the Streets during the Day and Night  
• Responding to Emergency and Distress Calls  
• Investigating Road Accidents  

Patrol officers also strive to improve the ties between the community and law enforcement agencies.  

Criminal Investigations Division  

The purpose of this division is to assist the Sheriff’s Office in solving crimes, primarily those beyond the Patrol Division’s expertise. The ultimate goal is attaining justice while proving beyond reasonable doubt that a suspect is guilty.  

Lead investigators conduct the investigation processes by: 

• Reviewing and Analyzing Incident Reports 
• Interviewing Victims, Witnesses, and Suspects 
• Visiting the Crime Scene and Accumulating Evidence  

Afterward, the officers forward the findings to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.  

County Inmate Search 

Columbia County’s Sheriff oversees the operations of the Columbia County Detention Center. The facility has an inmate capacity of 338 and houses individuals serving sentences of not more than two years. Additionally, the facility may contract with the Georgia Department of Corrections to house offenders awaiting community reentry. Usually, such inmates have remaining sentence periods of six months or less.  

Columbia County Sheriff’s Office maintains an online jail roster, allowing the public to access information on incarcerated inmates. The names on the roster are alphabetically arranged, and all you have to do is scroll through the list. You can also opt for the “Filter Inmate List” tab at the bottom of the page to conduct an inmate search. This criterion only allows you to use a “Last Name” search option.  

Alternatively, you can visit the Sheriff’s Office and review the jail roster. Notably, the information provided may be inaccurate due to delays in updating the roster. Some inmates may also falsify their personal information during admission resulting in unreliable data.  

Sex Offender Search  

Georgia Statutes require the Sheriff to keep the public updated on violent sex offenders. In compliance, the Columbia Sheriff’s Office provides an online website for public members to access this data. The following are the search options available:  

• Name  
• Race 
• Sex 
• Age  
• Street  
• City  
• Range  

The Name Search is broad, allowing you to input the first, last, or middle name in conjunction or separately. If you’re not looking for a specific offender, you can conduct an area search using the street, city, and range options. The range simply means the radius of the search, and the results list sex offenders within the particular area.  

Alternatively, you can conduct a county’s sex offender search via Georgia’s Sex Offender Registry managed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The upside of this website is that it lists names and mugshots of absconders who fail to comply with registration requirements. 

Columbia County Sheriffs Office - Substation

Address

650 Ronald Reagan Drive, Evans, Georgia, 30809

Phone

706-447-7650

Website

website

County Jails in Columbia County, GA

Police Departments in Columbia County, GA

State Prisons in Columbia County, GA

Columbia County, GA Incarceration Statistics

Columbia County, GA Jail Inmate Population, Jail Pretrial Population and Confined Population, for 2010-2015 years

Columbia County, GA Female Population, Rate & Count for 2010-2015 years

Columbia County, GA Male Population, Rate & Count for 2010-2015 years

Columbia County, GA Incarceration Rates by Race, for 2010-2015 years