Criminal Investigations

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The Criminal investigations division of the Fayette County sheriff’s office is comprised of highly trained detectives dedicated to seeking justice and protecting the citizens of our community.

The Criminal Investigations Division consists of the General Investigations Section, Crime Scene Unit, and our Youth Services Section. All Deputy Sheriffs assigned to this division hold the rank of Investigator. The Criminal Investigation Division uses innovative technology and sound investigative techniques to solve cases.

Child ID Program

Crime Scene

Evidence & Property

Fingerprinting

General Investigations

Neighborhood Watch

Sex Offenders

Youth Services

Coleman-baker act

Child ID Program

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office offers a technologically advanced method of helping you keep some of your children’s most valuable identifying information. By using the EZ Child ID system, the Sheriff’s Office will record a photo of your child as well as a fingerprint card. EZ Child ID Software form includes all 10 fingerprints and is saved in the universal PDF format.

The parent not only receives a printed EZ Child ID card and the EZ Child ID form, but they also may get a CD with all the information on it upon request. The EZ Child ID records all information that is required to issue an Amber Alert. EZ Child ID is usually set up at special events like the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Fall Festival held annually in October and is offered at no cost. This information is provided to the parent/guardian and is not retained by the Sheriff’s Office.

Crime Scene Unit

Investigators assigned to this unit are well trained and examine hundreds of Fayette County crime scenes every year. All crime scene investigators are either state certified as “Identification Technicians” or are working towards attaining this certification.

Evidence & Property

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Unit documents and assumes custody of property and evidence collected during an investigation. Once the evidence has been collected, it is stored in the evidence room and can only be accessed by an evidence custodian. Always maintaining a chain of custody, evidence and property are securely kept until trial. After a case has been adjudicated, evidence and property may be returned to its owner.

More Information

If you have questions concerning the release or retrieval of property or evidence, please contact the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit.

If you are requesting release of property or evidence, please click the button below.

Property Request Form

Fingerprinting

The Crime Scene Unit is available for fingerprinting Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The most common fingerprinting services we provide are:

Adoptions
Alcohol Licensing
Bondsman
Employment
Licensing
Volunteers
Weapons Carry Licenses issued by the Fayette County Probate Court

More Information

If you have questions regarding fingerprinting times or services, please contact the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit at 770-716-4760.

General Investigations

Investigators assigned to this unit are primarily responsible for investigating both felony and misdemeanor cases. When not responding to crime scenes or following leads, detectives prepare investigative reports for use in court. These investigators are dedicated to keeping crime rates low, providing victims with answers, and ensuring justice is served while upholding the rights of all individuals involved.

Neighborhood Watch

Neighborhood Watch is one of the most effective crime prevention tools being utilized today. Neighborhood Watch is basically a return to the way neighborhoods used to be. Years ago, people looked out for their neighbors’ property. If they saw something suspicious, they would investigate or call the police. Today in so many neighborhoods people do not even know their next door neighbor’s name.

Neighborhood Watch was designed to help strengthen the relationships between neighbors and in the process build a community wide crime prevention network. Law enforcement officials have for years relied on the community to assist in apprehending criminals after the crime has been committed. With Neighborhood Watch, this assistance is proactive instead of reactive.

Watch Information

Working together, law enforcement and the community can stop the crime before it occurs. This is the core of the Neighborhood Watch program.

A Neighborhood Watch can be formed around any geographical unit: a subdivision, community or business area. A watch group serves as an extra set of eyes and ears for reporting crime and helping neighbors. How effective a Neighborhood Watch is depends on how active its members are. Neighborhood Watch serves as a springboard for efforts that address community concerns.

Getting Started

First, before you contact your local law enforcement agency, contact your neighbors. Send out a flyer, call, or visit your neighbors to get an idea as to what the main concerns in the neighborhood are in regard to crime and personal safety. If you reside in unincorporated Fayette County, then contact the Sheriff’s Office and check about setting up your first Neighborhood Watch meeting. After your meeting with the Sheriff’s representative and establishing the core group of members, you will receive your signs that will announce to would be criminals that your neighborhood is “on the watch”.

If you live in Fayette County, Georgia, and would like to start a Neighborhood Watch, contact us.

Tips to Keep Your Program Active

After a Neighborhood Watch program has been adopted in your community, here are some tips on things to do to keep your program active:

Organize regular meetings that focus on current issues such as drug abuse, crime in schools, recreational activities for young people, and neighborhood problems.
Organize community patrols to walk around streets and report suspicious activity to law enforcement.
People in cars with cellular phones can patrol.
If your resources will allow, publish a newsletter that gives prevention tips and local crime news, recognizes residents of all ages who have “made a difference”, and highlights community events.
Plan neighborhood social events such as block parties, picnics, and volleyball or softball games.

Take Action

Remember, the only way we are going to keep our neighborhoods safe with less crime is to get law abiding citizens to take action to insure the safety of our communities and our homes. Neighborhood Watch is not the sole answer to the problem of crime in our communities. However, if we all work together, Neighborhood Watch can help curtail many of the crimes that go unchecked because of simple mistakes or neighbors that are “afraid to get involved”.

Submit a Tip

Sex Offenders

Investigators maintain the sex offender registry and ensure that registered sex offenders are compliant with the requirements of the registry. The sex offender list can be found here on our website and is posted in each lobby of the Sheriff’s Office. The sex offender list is also furnished to each law enforcement agency in the county, the Fayette County Board of Education, and private schools located in the County. For an updated registry list, you can click the link below.

Sex Offender Registry

Youth Services

The Youth Services Section of the Criminal Investigations Division, in partnership with the Fayette County Board of Education, provides dedicated on-site law enforcement services to elementary, middle, and high schools located in unincorporated Fayette County. Certified School Resource Officer (SRO) Deputy Sheriffs are assigned to serve and support the students and faculty at the following schools: Robert J. Burch Elementary, North Fayette Elementary, Sara Harp Minter Elementary, Inman Elementary, Peeples Elementary, Flat Rock Middle, Whitewater Middle, Rising Starr Middle, Sandy Creek High, Whitewater High, and Starr’s Mill High School.

Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety Program

The Youth Services Section also provides the Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety (C.H.A.M.P.S.) Program to the majority of Fayette County’s elementary school 5th grade students.

Coleman-Baker Act

The Coleman-Baker Act, enacted in Georgia in 2023, allows families of cold case murder and homicide victims to request a review of the case by law enforcement. This act, formerly known as House Bill 88, amended the state’s criminal code to provide a process for families to seek answers and potential reinvestigation of unsolved cases.

The act’s primary goal is to provide a pathway for families to engage with law enforcement regarding cold case murders, offering them a chance to potentially reopen investigations that have gone cold.

To be eligible for a Coleman-Baker Act review, the murder must have occurred after January 1, 1970, and at least three years prior to the application date. The initial investigation must have been completed by the relevant law enforcement agency, and all initial leads must have been exhausted. The applicant must be a designated person, such as an immediate family member or their legal representative.

Coleman-Baker Act Request