2025 Georgia Codes – Page 228

Amended 2024
(a) Whenever a law enforcement officer responds to an incident in which an act of family violence, as defined
in Code Section 19-13-1, has been committed, the officer shall not base the decision of whether to arrest and
charge a person on the specific consent of the victim or on a request by the victim solely or on consideration
of the relationship of the parties. No officer investigating an incident of family violence shall threaten, sug-
gest, or otherwise indicate the arrest of all parties for the purpose of discouraging requests for law enforce-
ment intervention.
(b)(1) As used in this subsection, the term “predominant aggressor” means the individual who poses the most
serious, ongoing threat, which may not be the initial aggressor in a specific incident.
(2) When complaints of family violence are received from two or more opposing parties, or if both par-
ties have injuries, the officer shall evaluate each complaint separately to attempt to determine who was the
predominant aggressor. Such officer shall not threaten, suggest, or otherwise indicate that all parties will be
arrested. If such officer determines that one of the parties was the predominant physical aggressor, that per-
son may be arrested. Such officer shall not be required to arrest any other person believed to have commit-
ted an act of family violence during the incident. In determining whether a person is a predominant physical
aggressor, an officer shall consider all of the following:
(A) Prior family violence involving either party;
(B) The relative severity of the injuries inflicted on each person, including whether the injuries are offensive
versus defensive in nature;
(C) Threats that created the fear of physical injury;
(D) The potential for future injury;
(E) Whether one of the parties acted in self-defense or in defense of a third party;
(F) Prior complaints of family violence; and
(G) Whether the person had reasonable cause to believe he or she was in imminent danger of becoming a
victim of any act of family violence.
(c) Whenever a law enforcement officer investigates an incident of family violence, whether or not an arrest
is made, the officer shall prepare and submit to the supervisor or other designated person a written report of
the incident entitled “Family Violence Report.” Forms for such reports shall be designed and provided by the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The report shall include the following:
(1) Name of the parties;
(2) Relationship of the parties;
(3) Sex of the parties;
(4) Date of birth of the parties;
(5) Time, place, and date of the incident;
(6) Whether children were involved or whether the act of family violence was committed in the presence of
children;
(7) Type and extent of the alleged abuse;
(8) Existence of substance abuse;
(9) Number and types of weapons involved;
(10) Existence of any prior court orders or protective orders as such term is defined in Code Section 19-13-
51;
(11) To the extent reasonably obtainable, the number and nature of prior complaints of family violence;
(12) Type of police action taken in disposition of case, the reasons for the officer’s determination that one
party was the predominant physical aggressor, and mitigating circumstances for why an arrest was not
made;
(13) Whether the victim was apprised of available remedies and services; and
(14) Any other information that may be pertinent.
(d) The report provided for in subsection (c) of this Code section shall be considered as being made for statis-
tical purposes only and where no arrests are made shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 4 of Chap-
ter 18 of Title 50. However, upon request, a defendant who has been arrested for an act of family violence
or the victim shall be entitled to review and copy any report prepared in accordance with this Code section
relating to the defendant.
(e) Each police department, including local precincts and county sheriff departments, shall report, according
to rules and regulations of the Georgia Crime Information Center, all family violence incidents, both arrests
and nonarrests, to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which shall compile and analyze statistics of fam-
ily violence crimes and cause them to be published annually in the Georgia Uniform Crime Reports. An
offense shall be counted for each incident reported to the police. A zero shall be reported if no incidents have
occurred during the reporting period.

(a) Whenever a law enforcement officer investigates an incident of a crime in which it appears that the
defendant intentionally selected any victim or group of victims or any property as the object of the offense
because of such victim’s or group of victims’ actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex,
sexual orientation, gender, mental disability, or physical disability, whether or not an arrest is made, the offi-
cer shall prepare and submit to the law enforcement officer’s supervisor or other designated person a written
report of the incident entitled “Bias Crime Report.” Forms for such reports shall be designed and provided
by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The report shall include:
(1) Names of the parties;
(2) Relationship of the parties;
(3) Sex and gender of the parties;
(4) Race of the parties;
(5) Religion of the parties;
(6) Dates of birth of the parties;
(7) Time, place, and date of the incident;
(8) Whether there is evidence to indicate that the incident occurred because of a person’s actual or perceived
attributes as specified by subsection (a) of this Code section;
(9) Type and extent of the alleged violation;
(10) Existence of any objects or symbols associated with the terrorizing of persons based upon actual or
perceived race, religion, or sex;
(11) Number and types of weapons involved, if any;
(12) Existence of any prior difficulties between the parties;
(13) Type of police action taken in disposition of case;
(14) Whether the victim was apprised of available remedies and services; and
(15) Any other information the officer deems pertinent.
(b) The report provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be considered for statistical purposes
only and, where no arrests are made, shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title
50. However, upon request, a defendant who has been arrested for a criminal violation subject to Code Sec-
tion 17-10-17 and the victim shall be entitled to review and copy any report prepared in accordance with this
Code section relating to the defendant.
(c) Each police department, including local precincts and county sheriff departments, shall report, according
to rules and regulations of the Georgia Crime Information Center, all incidents involving alleged criminal
violations subject to the provisions of this Code section, both arrests and nonarrests, to the Georgia Bureau
of Investigation, which shall compile and analyze statistics of such crimes and cause them to be published
annually in the Georgia Uniform Crime Reports. An offense shall be counted for each incident reported to
the police. A zero shall be reported if no incidents have occurred during the reporting period.
Title 19
Domestic Relations
Chapter 13
Family Violence