Search Benton County Police Blotter

The Benton County police blotter covers incidents and arrests logged by the Benton County Sheriff's Office in Foley. The county is in central Minnesota and includes communities like Foley, St. Cloud's eastern suburbs, and rural townships. The Sheriff's Office launched an online crime reporting platform in late 2024, and the county jail maintains a searchable roster with booking photos and charge information. You can request police blotter records in person, by phone, or in writing. Minnesota law makes most arrest data public, and Benton County follows those rules through the Government Data Practices Act.

Benton County Sheriff's Office

The Benton County Sheriff's Office is at 581 Highway 23 in Foley. Deputies handle law enforcement for the unincorporated county and manage the county jail. The office fields calls ranging from traffic stops to felony investigations. Every call that is logged becomes part of the incident record system, and those records are the foundation of the police blotter.

The county launched an online crime reporting platform in December 2024. This platform allows residents and businesses to file non-emergency police reports online without calling dispatch. It is a convenient option for incidents that do not need an immediate response. For records requests and blotter access, contact the office directly at (320) 968-7201. The jail line is (320) 968-5196.

The image below is from the Benton County Sheriff's Office page, which includes contact information, records access details, and information about the county jail.

The Sheriff's Office page at co.benton.mn.us covers records requests, jail information, and law enforcement contacts for Benton County.

How to Request Benton County Police Blotter Records

To get a police blotter record or incident report from Benton County, contact the Sheriff's Office at (320) 968-7201. You can also visit the office at 581 Highway 23 in Foley. Bring a valid ID and be ready to describe the record you want, including the date and type of incident. Staff will search for the record and let you review the public portions.

For written requests, send your inquiry to the Benton County Sheriff's Office with your name, contact information, and a clear description of what you need. The more detail you give, the faster they can locate the record. Under Minnesota Statutes § 13.03, inspection is free. Copies cost up to 25 cents per page. The office must respond within a reasonable time and cannot require you to explain why you want the data.

The online crime reporting platform launched in December 2024 is for filing new non-emergency reports, not for retrieving old ones. To search existing blotter records, you still need to contact the office directly or access the jail roster online. The county's online infrastructure continues to grow, so check the Sheriff's Office page at co.benton.mn.us for updates on what is available digitally.

What Police Blotter Records Are Public

Minnesota law makes most arrest data public. Under Minnesota Statutes § 13.82, the name, age, sex, and last known address of any adult arrested are public. The time, date, and location of the arrest are public too. So are the charges, the arresting officer's identity, and the agency involved. This applies to every arrest made by the Benton County Sheriff's Office and city departments within the county.

Incident reports may contain additional public data even when no arrest results. Call type, general location, and date are usually public. Some details are protected. Victim addresses, active investigation notes, and confidential source information are not public. Juvenile records are restricted. When a record has both types, staff separate them and release only the public part. Under Chapter 13, you do not have to explain why you want public data.

Online Police Blotter Access for Benton County

Benton County's jail roster is searchable online. You can search by inmate number, name, or age range. The system also lets you filter by booking date range and release date. Mugshots and charge information are available for current and recent inmates. This is one of the more detailed online jail resources among Minnesota counties. Check the Sheriff's Office page at co.benton.mn.us for a direct link to the jail roster tool.

For court-connected records, use the Minnesota Courts website to search Benton County District Court cases. If an arrest in the blotter led to criminal charges, the case should appear in the court records system. Search by name or case number. Court records show case status, hearing dates, and final disposition.

The Minnesota BCA handles statewide criminal history records. If you need a formal criminal background check, that goes through the BCA. For inmate searches at the jail level, VineLink also covers Benton County and lets you search by name or offender ID.

Note: The online crime reporting platform launched in December 2024 is for new non-emergency reports only. It does not give access to existing blotter records.

Benton County Jail and Inmate Records

The Benton County Jail is located at the Sheriff's Office at 581 Highway 23 in Foley. The facility has a secure capacity of 102 beds and an operational capacity of 96.9 beds. The jail holds adults arrested and awaiting court proceedings as well as persons serving sentences of less than one year. The facility received a 98.41% compliance rating during its 2022 biennial inspection by the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Jail records are public data under § 13.82. Booking information, charges, and booking dates are all available. The online jail roster lets you search by name, inmate number, age range, booking date range, and release date. Mugshots and charge data are part of the online record. This is more than most county jails offer publicly. For real-time inmate lookup, VineLink is also available and covers Benton County.

Biennial inspections are conducted by the MN Department of Corrections under Minnesota Statute 241.021. Inspection results are part of the public record and can be requested through the Department of Corrections or the Sheriff's Office.

Cities in Benton County

Benton County is in central Minnesota, near the St. Cloud metro area. No cities in the county meet the population threshold for individual city pages. Foley is the county seat. The county includes smaller communities and townships, each served by the Sheriff's Office for law enforcement outside city limits.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Benton County. Each has its own sheriff's office and records process.