Otter Tail County Arrest Records

The direct consequence of criminal activity in Otter Tail County is often an arrest. Alleged perpetrators may be taken into secure police custody or given a citation/summons to present themselves in court later (usually when the offense is minor or petty).

If detained in police custody, an individual may be held at the Otter Tail County Jail (Detention Center) until they see a judge, post bail, or are released on personal recognizance. Where further investigation is needed, the prosecution declines to pursue the case, or the arrest was erroneous, the individual may be released without charge. However, anyone who was legally arrested in Otter Tail will typically have their personal details and crime entered into an arrest report.

An attorney may evaluate the legality of their client's arrest by reviewing the arrest record. The record is also relevant to prosecutorial authorities for charging offenders in court. Individuals interested in an arrest's circumstances can also request the arrest record from its custodian—the law enforcement department that made the arrest.

Still, as law enforcement agencies routinely share records with other criminal justice agencies, arrest information may be integrated into certain public records, such as the Otter Tail County court records and statewide criminal files.

Are Arrest Records Public in Otter Tail County?

Yes. Arrest records created or maintained in Otter Tail County are deemed public under Minnesota's Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA). The Act permits the general public to see or retrieve records kept by government bodies, including police departments.

However, certain records are designated "exempt" from public examination—usually to secure the justice system's integrity, safeguard parties' private information, or protect a person's life or safety.

Section 13.82 of the MGDPA lists confidential Otter Tail arrest records to include:

• Juvenile offender information
• Sealed or expunged records
• Records tied to active criminal investigations or that reveal criminal investigative techniques
• Certain crime victim data
• Sensitive personal and financial data, such as a person's financial account or Social Security number

Where an arrest record is deemed confidential under Minnesota law, access may only be supplied to the subject, the subject's legal representative, a criminal justice agency for an authorized purpose, or a party with a court order.

What Do Public Arrest Records Contain?

Public arrest records in Otter Tail County frequently carry the following information:

• Arrestee's full legal name, age, sex, and last known address
• Arrest time, date, and location
• Offense/charge
• Arrest circumstances, including whether an arresting agency or suspect used weapons, whether a pursuit was necessary, or whether an agency encountered resistance from the suspect
• Arresting agency or officer
• Booking photograph, number, date, and facility
• Release date and conditions
• Response or incident report number

Otter Tail County Arrest Statistics

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) under Minnesota's Department of Public Safety serves as the state's central repository for crime data. The agency publishes comprehensive crime statistics and trends for Minnesota's counties on its Crime Statistics page.

On the website, members of the public have access to the Minnesota Uniform Crime Report (a yearly summary of crime data reported by local law enforcement agencies) and the Minnesota Crime Data Explorer (an internet-based portal for obtaining detailed crime statistics reported by local law enforcement agencies).

Statistics extracted from the Minnesota Crime Data Explorer reveal 949 arrests occurring in Otter Tail County in 2023, a significant 21.8% rise from the previous year's 779 arrests. Among the recorded offenses in 2023, Crimes Against Society emerged as the most popular category, with 378 arrests. The Crimes Against Property and Crimes Against Persons categories had 234 and 206 arrests, respectively.

Otter Tail County's leading criminal offenses in 2023 were assault offenses, amounting to 188 arrests that year. Driving under the influence (DUI) (185 arrests) and larceny/theft offenses (140 arrests) were also prevalent in the county.

Find Otter Tail County Arrest Records

People seeking arrest records in Otter Tail County can access the local sheriff's Jail in Custody List, which supplies information about adults apprehended by county law enforcement agencies and placed in the Detention Center located on Junius Avenue and Mill Street. As stated by the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office, this list is updated every two hours. For further arrest and inmate inquiries, the Sheriff's Office can be reached at (218) 998-8555 or sheriff@ottertailcounty.gov.

It should be noted that while the Otter Tail County Jail makes provisions for holding prisoners for the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC), US Immigrations, and US Marshals, inmates who have been formally transferred to state or federal custody cannot be located via the Jail in Custody List or the Sheriff's Office. In such cases, the interested person may utilize the following resources:

• The Minnesota DOC's Offender Locator (or Incarcerated Inmate Search): This tool uncovers information about people imprisoned in/released from penitentiaries across Minnesota or under state supervision. The DOC also provides other offender search resources, like those for looking up individuals required to register under Minnesota laws (also known as the Public Registrant Search) and wanted fugitives.
• The Federal Inmate Locator: The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) provides this inmate management system to find individuals serving time in federal prisons or detained at a federal facility (essentially, to locate people in the BOP's custody). The locator can be searched with an incarcerated person's name or unique identification number for records since 1982. To access more details about an inmate, a requester can send an FOIA request to the BOP. Older records (pre-1982) can be requested from the National Archives.

Free Arrest Record Search in Otter Tail County

Anyone submitting an arrest record inquiry to a police department in Otter Tail may not necessarily pay to access that information. According to the MGDPA (Section 13.03, Subd. 3), fees may not be incurred by a person who only wishes to inspect a public record. However, a records custodian is entitled to charge the requester with the actual costs of searching for and retrieving a record, including the costs of employee time and printing or certifying documents.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

In most cases, forever. Arrests are permanent components of a person's criminal history record in Minnesota and, by extension, Otter Tail County. These records persist through a subject's lifetime and may be accessible to anyone with an interest unless restricted by law. For example, the general public cannot see juvenile arrest information. Notwithstanding, a person's arrest record may be eligible for expungement, a legal procedure that removes a record from public view.

Expunge Otter Tail County Arrest Records

In Minnesota, an "expungement" can mean sealing or destroying a record or returning it to its subject. The exact form of relief granted by an expungement depends on the applicable legal provisions and, particularly, whether an arrest event escalated to the court system.

Minn. Stat. § 299C.11 governs expungement where an arrest occurred, but the subject was never charged, or the case was dismissed before a criminal complaint was submitted. Here, the subject of the arrest may request the destruction of the identifying parts of their arrest record (except collected DNA samples) and for the record to be sealed at the law enforcement department.

Such expungements are made by written requests to the law enforcement agencies that possess the record, including police departments, sheriff's offices, city/county attorneys, and the BCA. Sample form letters are available on the Minnesota Judiciary's website. It is recommended that these letters be sent via "Certified Mail-Return Receipt Requested" and that a copy of each letter be retained in one's files to keep track of which agencies received the request.

Expungements under Minn. Stat. § 299C.11 do not usually involve the court system because the case ended at an early stage, and no court record will have been created. However, besides being eligible based on how an arrest event was concluded, a petitioner must also meet the following criteria:

• The individual was not convicted of a gross misdemeanor or felony in the 10 years before their arrest.
• All charges were dismissed before a probable cause determination, or the prosecutor declined to file charges and a grand jury did not issue an indictment.
• The individual did not participate in a diversion program because of the arrest.

Where an arrested person progresses further within the criminal justice system or does not meet the Minn. Stat. § 299C.11 eligibility requirements, they may qualify to expunge their records under Chapter 609A through a court petition. In this context, the expungement "seals" the police and court records; it does not destroy them. Record sealing restricts public access unless a requesting party has the statutory authority to access the record or acquires a court order. Detailed information about this type of record relief is available on the Minnesota Judiciary's Criminal Expungement website.

Otter Tail County Arrest Warrants

A warrant of arrest in Otter Tail County is a judicial directive authorizing a law enforcement officer to apprehend and detain a person on suspicion of a crime. The warrant can also be issued for failing to comply with a court order, such as attending a court hearing, paying child support, or obeying parole or probation conditions.

"Probable cause" is the primary determinant in the issuance of arrest warrants in Otter Tail. Before a judge can approve an arrest warrant's release, the requesting law enforcement agent must provide and attest to facts or evidence that support the proposed subject's apprehension. Granted, this rule is not absolute. Where the court issues a bench warrant for someone's arrest—typically because they failed to follow a court order—probable cause is already established by the defendant's actions.

Per Minn. R. Crim. P. 3.02, warrants issued in Otter Tail County must bear a judge's signature and the defendant's name (or any name or description by which they can be reasonably identified). Such writs also describe the offense and state a bail amount (if applicable).

People searching for active warrants in Otter Tail can review the local sheriff's Active Warrants List.

Do Otter Tail County Arrest Warrants Expire?

No. To dissuade people from evading the legal system, arrest warrants in Otter Tail remain effective until a defendant turns themselves in at the Otter Tail County Detention Facility or over to the district court. Otherwise, the person risks an arrest whenever they encounter the police. In certain instances, however, a court may recall an arrest warrant upon finding a reasonable basis.