Red Lake County Booking Releases

Red Lake County booking releases are handled by the Red Lake County Sheriff's Office at 101 Main Ave N in Red Lake Falls. This is a small, rural county in northwestern Minnesota, and the sheriff's office is the sole law enforcement authority responsible for jail operations and booking records. When someone is arrested here, their name, charges, and booking date become public data under Minnesota law. This page covers how to search Red Lake County booking releases, what tools are available, and what the law says about public access.

Red Lake County Sheriff's Office

The Red Lake County Sheriff's Office is the main law enforcement agency in the county. It operates the jail and keeps all booking records. The address is 101 Main Ave N, Red Lake Falls, MN 56750. You can reach the office by phone at (218) 253-2991. The same number connects to the jail.

Red Lake County is one of the smallest counties in Minnesota by population. That means the jail is small and the booking volume is lower than in metro counties. But the records are still public, and the same state laws apply. When a deputy makes an arrest, the booking data is recorded and becomes part of the public record. Call the sheriff's office directly if you want to confirm whether a specific person is currently in custody.

Tri-County Community Corrections

Red Lake County participates in Tri-County Community Corrections along with Norman and Polk Counties. This regional program handles probation supervision and some corrections functions for the three-county area. The Tri-County office is at 816 Marin Ave #110, Crookston, MN 56716, and can be reached at 218-470-8100.

This matters for booking records because some individuals in the Red Lake County area may be supervised by Tri-County rather than held at the local jail. If a person is on probation or under community supervision, the Tri-County office may have relevant records. For someone who is actively held in the Red Lake County Jail, the sheriff's office at 101 Main Ave N is your primary contact.

How to Find Red Lake County Booking Releases

The best free tool for searching Red Lake County booking releases is VINE. VINE stands for Victim Information and Notification Everyday. You can use it at vinelink.com or call 1-877-664-8463 at any time. VINE covers all Minnesota counties, including Red Lake. You search by the person's name or inmate ID. The system returns current custody status and can send alerts if anything changes.

VINE pulls data directly from the county jail system. If someone was booked into Red Lake County Jail today, VINE should reflect that soon after. It's the fastest way to check custody status without calling the sheriff's office. For people who have been released or transferred, the system may still show historical data depending on how the record was updated.

The Minnesota BCA Criminal History System at chs.state.mn.us provides conviction records statewide, including those from Red Lake County cases that reached final disposition.

For court records tied to a Red Lake County arrest, use Minnesota Courts Records Online (MCRO) at mncourts.gov/Access-Case-Records.aspx. MCRO is free and covers Red Lake County District Court cases. You can find case numbers, charges, and court dates. Court charges sometimes differ from booking charges, so check both sources if you need a full picture.

What Minnesota Law Requires

Minnesota Statute 13.82 defines which law enforcement data is public. The name of the arrested person, the time and date of arrest, the charges, and the arresting agency are all public data. You do not need a special reason to access this information. It is open to anyone who asks.

Minnesota Statute 13.85 covers correctional data. Some jail records are private. Medical records, mental health data, and financial records tied to an inmate are not available to the public. The Red Lake County Sheriff's Office follows these rules when deciding what to release. If you ask for something that is classified as private data, the office will tell you it cannot be shared.

Minnesota Statute 641.05 sets the standards for how county jails must be run and how inmates must be processed. This statute drives the record-keeping that makes public booking data available. Every county jail in Minnesota, including Red Lake, operates under this law. The documentation requirements in the statute are what create the records you can search.

Making a Formal Records Request

If VINE and MCRO don't have what you need, you can submit a formal request to the Red Lake County Sheriff's Office. Minnesota's Government Data Practices Act gives the public the right to ask for government records. Call (218) 253-2991 and ask to speak with the data practices contact. For anything beyond a simple custody check, a written request is the clearest approach.

The office must respond in a reasonable time. Simple requests are often handled the same day. More complex requests, such as older records or records that need review for private data, can take longer. Viewing records in person is usually free. Copies may cost a small per-page fee. The sheriff's office can tell you the current fee schedule.

Red Lake County is small, which can work in your favor. Staff handle records directly, and there is less bureaucratic delay than in larger counties. That said, the same privacy rules apply. Not every record can be released. Booking data is public; internal classification notes and medical data are not.

BCA Statewide Criminal History

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Criminal History System lets you search conviction records across the state for $8 per search. It includes records from Red Lake County cases that went to final disposition. The BCA database is useful for background checks, but it won't tell you if someone is in jail right now. A person could be in the Red Lake County Jail today with no BCA conviction record if they are pretrial or have no prior convictions in Minnesota.

The BCA is managed by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. There can be a lag between when a case closes and when results show up in the system. For current custody status, use VINE. For court case details, use MCRO. For conviction history, use the BCA. Each tool serves a different purpose.

Red Lake County Jail Operations

The Red Lake County Jail processes arrests made by county deputies and sometimes by other agencies operating in the area. After booking, a person may be released on bail, held pretrial, or transferred depending on the nature of the charges. Short sentences may be served at the county facility. Longer state sentences are served at a Minnesota Department of Corrections facility.

Visitation rules and mail procedures are set by the Red Lake County Sheriff's Office. Call (218) 253-2991 for the current schedule. Policies can change, and the jail is the most reliable source for current information. Phone calls from the jail use a prepaid system. Ask the jail about the current provider and how to fund an inmate phone account.

Because Red Lake County is small, the jail may transfer inmates to neighboring county facilities if space is limited or if the charges warrant it. VINE will still show the person's current location if they have been transferred within the Minnesota system. This makes VINE especially useful for rural counties like Red Lake where inmate transfers are more common.

Cities in Red Lake County

No cities in Red Lake County meet the population threshold for a dedicated city page on this site. Red Lake Falls is the county seat and largest community, with roughly 1,400 residents. Other small towns in the county include Plummer and Brooks, but none come close to the qualifying threshold.

Nearby Counties

Red Lake County borders several other Minnesota counties, each with their own booking release records and sheriff's offices.