Privacy Policy

McIntosh County Sheriff's Office
Last Updated: August 10, 2026

The McIntosh County Sheriff's Office (“Sheriff's Office,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the information you provide when using this website.

This Privacy Policy explains how information may be collected, used, maintained, and disclosed when you visit or interact with the official website of the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office.

Because the Sheriff's Office is a public law-enforcement agency, information submitted to or maintained by the Sheriff's Office may be subject to the Georgia Open Records Act and other applicable federal and state laws. This Privacy Policy does not create any right to confidentiality that is not provided by law.

1. Information We Collect

The information collected through this website depends on how you use the site.

Information You Provide

You may voluntarily provide information when you:

Submit a contact or inquiry form;
Send an email or other electronic communication;
Submit a request for information or services;
Submit information related to a report, complaint, tip, or other law-enforcement matter;
Complete an online application or form;
Subscribe to notifications, alerts, or other communications;
Make an online payment through a third-party service, when available; or
Otherwise communicate with the Sheriff's Office through this website.

Depending on the service involved, information you provide may include your name, email address, telephone number, mailing address, case or incident information, and other information necessary to respond to your request.

Please do not submit confidential, sensitive, or emergency information through a general website form unless the form specifically requests that information.

If you are experiencing an emergency, call 911. Website forms and email should not be relied upon for emergency assistance or an immediate law-enforcement response.

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit this website, certain technical information may be collected automatically by the website, its hosting provider, or services used to operate and maintain the website.

Depending on the website's configuration, this information may include:

Internet Protocol (IP) address;
Browser and device type;
Operating system;
Date and time of your visit;
Pages viewed and links accessed;
Referring website or page;
General information about how you interact with the website; and
Other technical information necessary for website security, functionality, and performance.

This information may be used to maintain and improve the website, monitor website performance, diagnose technical problems, prevent misuse, protect the security of the website, and understand general website usage.

2. Cookies and Similar Technologies

This website may use cookies or similar technologies to provide website functionality, remember certain preferences, measure website usage, or improve website performance.

Cookies are small files or pieces of information stored on your device by a website. Some cookies may be placed by third-party services used to provide website functionality or analytics.

You may be able to control or disable cookies through your web browser. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of portions of the website.

3. How We Use Information

Information collected through this website may be used to:

Respond to questions, requests, and communications;
Provide requested government or law-enforcement services;
Process forms, applications, or other submissions;
Communicate with members of the public;
Maintain and improve website functionality;
Monitor and protect the security of the website and its systems;
Investigate suspected misuse, fraud, security incidents, or unlawful activity;
Comply with legal obligations;
Fulfill governmental and law-enforcement responsibilities; and
Carry out other official functions of the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office does not collect information through this website for commercial marketing purposes.

4. Public Records and Disclosure

The McIntosh County Sheriff's Office is a governmental law-enforcement agency. Records created, received, or maintained by the Sheriff's Office may constitute public records under the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.

Information submitted through this website may therefore be subject to disclosure when required or permitted by Georgia law.

Not all information maintained by a law-enforcement agency is subject to public disclosure. Certain records and information may be confidential or exempt from disclosure under applicable federal or Georgia law, including laws governing law-enforcement records, personal information, juvenile records, victim information, investigative materials, and other protected information.

The Sheriff's Office will handle requests for public records in accordance with applicable law.

For information about submitting a Georgia Open Records Request, please visit the McIntosh County website's Georgia Open Records Request page.

5. Law-Enforcement and Public-Safety Information

Because the Sheriff's Office performs law-enforcement and public-safety functions, information submitted to the website may become part of an official record, investigation, case file, or other governmental record.

Information may be accessed, used, retained, or disclosed as authorized or required by law, including for purposes such as:

Law-enforcement investigations;
Criminal investigations and prosecutions;
Court proceedings;
Public-safety operations;
Records management;
Compliance with subpoenas, court orders, warrants, or other legal processes;
Cooperation with other governmental or law-enforcement agencies; and
Other official governmental purposes authorized by law.

Submitting information through this website does not guarantee that the information will remain confidential.

6. Email and Electronic Communications

Information sent to the Sheriff's Office by email or through a website form may be retained as a governmental record.

Email and other electronic communications are not necessarily secure methods of transmitting sensitive information. You should exercise caution before sending confidential personal information electronically.

The Sheriff's Office may use the information contained in an electronic communication to respond to your request, route the communication to the appropriate department or official, maintain necessary records, or perform other official functions.

7. Third-Party Services

Certain portions of this website may use third-party services to provide functionality such as website hosting, analytics, online payments, maps, forms, document delivery, notifications, social-media content, or other services.

When you interact with a third-party service through this website, that service may collect information in accordance with its own privacy policy and terms of use.

The Sheriff's Office does not control the privacy practices of independent third-party websites and services. You should review the privacy policies of those services before providing personal information.

Third-party services may include services used for:

Website hosting and maintenance;
Website analytics;
Online payments or citation payments;
Forms and electronic submissions;
Maps and location-related functionality;
Social-media content;
Communications and notifications; and
Other website functionality.

8. Online Payments

If this website provides access to online payment services, payment transactions may be processed by an independent third-party payment provider.

The Sheriff's Office generally does not need to receive or maintain complete credit-card or debit-card information to provide an online payment service. Payment information may be collected and processed directly by the applicable payment provider.

Users should review the payment provider's privacy policy and terms before completing a transaction.

9. Links to Other Websites

This website may contain links to websites operated by other governmental agencies, courts, organizations, service providers, social-media platforms, or other third parties.

A link to another website does not mean that the Sheriff's Office endorses that website or its privacy practices.

Once you leave the Sheriff's Office website, the privacy practices of the external website will apply. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any website you visit.

10. Social Media

The Sheriff's Office may maintain or link to official social-media accounts.

Information you voluntarily post, comment, message, or otherwise submit through a social-media platform may be collected and retained by that platform and may also be subject to applicable public-records laws.

Social-media platforms are operated independently of the Sheriff's Office and have their own privacy policies and terms of service.

Please do not post sensitive personal information, confidential law-enforcement information, passwords, financial information, or information that could jeopardize an investigation or someone's safety.

11. Information Security

The Sheriff's Office takes reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures to protect information collected through this website against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

However, no website, electronic communication system, or method of transmitting information over the Internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Accordingly, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted to or through this website.

12. Data Retention

Information collected or created through this website may be retained in accordance with applicable federal and Georgia law, records-retention requirements, law-enforcement requirements, litigation holds, investigations, and the records-management policies applicable to the Sheriff's Office and McIntosh County.

The length of time information is retained depends on the nature of the information and the legal requirements applicable to it.

13. Children's Privacy

This website is intended for general public and governmental use. The Sheriff's Office does not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children for commercial purposes.

Because this is a public-law-enforcement website, information concerning minors may be submitted in connection with legitimate governmental, law-enforcement, victim-services, or public-safety matters. Such information will be handled in accordance with applicable law.

Parents and guardians should encourage children not to submit personal information through websites without appropriate supervision.

14. Georgia Privacy and Public-Records Laws

This Privacy Policy is intended to be consistent with applicable federal and Georgia law.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy limits the Sheriff's Office's legal obligations or authority under applicable law, including the Georgia Open Records Act and laws governing law enforcement, public safety, criminal investigations, court records, confidential information, and records retention.

Where applicable law requires disclosure of information, the Sheriff's Office will comply with that legal requirement.

Where applicable law permits or requires information to be withheld or protected, the Sheriff's Office will handle that information accordingly.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

The Sheriff's Office may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the website, services, technology, applicable laws, or agency practices.

When this policy is updated, the revised “Last Updated” date will be posted at the top of this page.

We encourage visitors to periodically review this page for the most current information.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or the Sheriff's Office's use of information collected through this website, please contact:

McIntosh County Sheriff's Office
12317 Georgia Highway 251
Darien, Georgia 31305
Phone: 912-437-6623

For emergencies, call 911.

For public-records requests, please follow the McIntosh County Open Records Request procedures.

Disclaimer: This Privacy Policy describes the website's privacy practices and does not constitute legal advice. The McIntosh County Sheriff's Office may be subject to additional federal, state, and local laws, regulations, policies, court orders, and records-retention requirements that govern the collection, use, retention, and disclosure of information.