Compendium of State Privacy and Security Legislation: 1997 Overview - Georgia; Georgia Code Section Retention of Information on Arrested Persons

• NCJ Number: 170046
• Date Published: May 1997
• Publication Type: Publication

Annotation

This is a 1997 overview of Georgia law pertinent to the privacy and security of criminal justice information.

Abstract

The section of Georgia's code that pertains to the retention of information on arrested persons requires that law enforcement agencies collect and maintain specified information on arrestees. These records must be open for public inspection unless otherwise provided by law. Another law authorizes the establishment and duties of the Georgia Crime Information Center, which administers a system for the intrastate communication of vital information relating to crimes, criminals, and criminal activity. The Center obtains and files fingerprints, descriptions, photographs, and other pertinent identifying data on specified types of persons processed by the criminal justice system. One provision of this law focuses on the dissemination of records to private persons and businesses; the disclosure of all information pertinent to an adverse employment decision; the responsibility and liability of the Center; and the authority to adopt necessary rules, regulations, and forms. A similar provision addresses the dissemination of records to public agencies and political subdivisions. Also covered in the law are the inspection of criminal records; the purging, modification, or supplementing of records; and the disclosure of techniques used to ensure the security or privacy of criminal history records. A law regarding the inspection of public records requires that all State, county, and municipal records, except those otherwise prohibited by law, are to be open to inspection by the general public. Also included in this compendium are attorney general opinions and judicial decisions pertinent to the administration of criminal justice records, the Georgia Public Records Act, and the Rules of the Georgia Crime Information Center Council.