Lake of the Woods County Booking Reports
Lake of the Woods County Booking Reports are public records created when someone is taken into custody at the county jail in Baudette. This page covers how to access those records, who maintains them, and what other tools you can use to find arrest and inmate data in Minnesota's northernmost border county. The Sheriff's Office handles all jail bookings and is the primary contact for custody information.
Lake of the Woods County Booking Reports
Lake of the Woods County Jail Booking Reports
The Lake of the Woods County Sheriff's Office maintains the jail and processes all bookings. Baudette is the county seat, and the detention center is where most local arrests are processed. The county sits at the very top of Minnesota, bordered by Canada to the north and west. That location means it covers a large geographic area with a small population.
The Sheriff's Office detention center page at lotwcounty.gov/sheriffs-office/detention-center-jail/ has information about the jail and how to access records. For people held longer than the local facility can accommodate, the county may transfer inmates to neighboring facilities. That's common in small rural counties throughout northern Minnesota.
If the online roster doesn't have what you need, call the Sheriff's Office directly at 218-634-1143. Staff can check custody status and help with records requests during business hours.
Sheriff's Office Contact Information
The Sheriff's Office is the main point of contact for jail-related inquiries in Lake of the Woods County. Use the information below to reach the right department for booking records, inmate status, or other custody questions.
| Office | Lake of the Woods County Sheriff's Office |
|---|---|
| Address | 206 8th Avenue SE, Baudette, MN 56623 |
| Phone | 218-634-1143 |
| Website | lotwcounty.gov |
For court case information related to arrests in this county, use Minnesota Court Records Online. Lake of the Woods County falls under the 9th Judicial District, which covers much of northern Minnesota.
Note: Because Lake of the Woods County has a small jail, some inmates may be transferred to facilities in neighboring counties or regions.
What Lake of the Woods Booking Reports Contain
A booking report captures the basic facts of a jail admission. When the Sheriff's Office books someone, they create a record. That record is public data under Minnesota law.
Minnesota Statutes section 13.82 classifies arrest data as public government data. The law requires that agencies release the name of the person arrested, the date and time of arrest, the arresting agency, the charge, and where the person is held. This applies to Lake of the Woods County just as it does to every other county in the state. Booking records are public. You do not need to show a reason to ask for them.
Standard fields in a booking record include full name, booking date, charges, arresting agency, custody status, and release information if available. A booking record is not a conviction. Many people booked into jail are released without charges or are later acquitted. For case outcomes, use court records rather than jail rosters.
Minnesota Data Practices and Public Access
Minnesota's Government Data Practices Act governs how government records are handled. Chapter 13 of the Minnesota Statutes sets out the rules. Most government data is public by default unless a specific law classifies it as private.
Section 13.82 covers law enforcement data. It lists what must be released as public data. Arrest information, including names, dates, charges, and arresting agencies, falls into the public category. Section 13.87 covers criminal history data, which has different rules. The BCA maintains criminal history records, and some of that data is public while other parts are restricted. The BCA Criminal History search is a separate tool from a jail roster. Both serve different purposes.
For the most complete picture, use three sources together: the county jail roster for current custody, BCA records for conviction history, and court records for case outcomes.
VINE Custody Notifications
VINE stands for Victim Information and Notification Everyday. It is a free service. Anyone can register to get alerts when an inmate's custody status changes. That includes releases, transfers, and other updates.
To sign up for Lake of the Woods County VINE alerts, visit vinelink.com or call 1-877-MN-4-VINE. The service works around the clock. Alerts go out by phone, text, or email. You do not need to explain why you are registering. The service is available to anyone who wants to track a specific person's custody status.
Note: VINE alerts cover custody status changes but are not a substitute for checking the jail roster directly when you need current information.
Other Minnesota Record Sources
The county jail covers local custody. For state prison records, use the Minnesota DOC Offender Locator. Someone at the Lake of the Woods County jail is being held locally and won't appear in the DOC system. But if a person was convicted and sent to a state facility, the DOC locator is the right place to look.
Court records show what happened after an arrest. Use Minnesota Court Records Online to find case filings, charges, and case status. The BCA's criminal history search is free and shows conviction data for Minnesota adults. You need a first name, last name, and date of birth to run that search.
Third-party sites like Minnesota Jail Roster compile data from multiple counties. They can help if you are not sure which county someone was booked in. Always verify against the official county source before acting on any information you find.
Nearby Counties
Lake of the Woods County sits at the northern tip of Minnesota. Arrests near the county line may involve agencies from neighboring counties. Each has its own jail and booking records process.