Brown County Police Blotter

Brown County police blotter records are available through the Brown County Sheriff's Office in New Ulm and through several online resources. The Sheriff's Office maintains a live jail roster at brownso.org with booking photos, charge information, and current inmate status. The New Ulm Journal publishes regular police logs drawn from the Sheriff's Office, New Ulm Police Department, and Sleepy Eye Police Department. For copies of specific incident reports, contact the Sheriff's Office at 15 S. Washington St. in New Ulm. All records follow the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, which makes most arrest data public and available on request.

Brown County Sheriff's Office

The Brown County Sheriff's Office is at 15 S. Washington St. in New Ulm. The office handles law enforcement for unincorporated areas of the county and manages the county jail. Deputies respond to calls ranging from domestic assault and DWI to theft, warrant arrests, and traffic stops. Every call generates a record, and those records are the core of the police blotter.

New Ulm also has its own city police department. The New Ulm Police Department covers incidents within city limits. Sleepy Eye has its own department too. For blotter records from city incidents, contact the appropriate city department. The Sheriff's Office covers calls outside incorporated areas and operates the county jail for all agencies in the county.

How to Get Brown County Police Blotter Records

To request a police blotter record or incident report from the Brown County Sheriff's Office, call (507) 233-6700 or visit in person at 15 S. Washington St. in New Ulm. Bring a valid ID and describe the incident as clearly as you can. Having the date, type of offense, and location helps staff find the right record. Inspection of public data is free. Copies cost up to 25 cents per page under Minnesota Statutes § 13.03.

The New Ulm Journal publishes regular police logs at nujournal.com/news/police-logs/. These logs pull from the Sheriff's Office, the New Ulm Police Department, and the Sleepy Eye Police Department. Common entries include domestic assault reports, DWI arrests, traffic violations, theft reports, warrant arrests, accident investigations, and fraud cases. The Journal is a solid starting point before you file a formal request.

Written requests are also accepted. Send them to 15 S. Washington St., New Ulm, MN 56073. Include your name, contact information, and a clear description of what you need. Under Chapter 13 of the Minnesota Statutes, you do not have to explain why you want public data.

Note: City police records for New Ulm and Sleepy Eye incidents require separate requests to those departments.

What Police Blotter Data Is Public in Brown County

Brown County follows Minnesota Statutes § 13.82 for law enforcement data. Arrest records are public. The public data includes the name, age, sex, and last known address of any adult arrested. It also covers the date, time, and location of the arrest, the charge, and the identities of the arresting officer and agency. This is true for arrests made by the Sheriff's Office, New Ulm Police, and Sleepy Eye Police.

Incident reports may contain public data even when no arrest results. The type of call and the general location are typically accessible. Victim contact information, active investigation notes, and confidential source identities are protected. Juvenile records are not public. If a record contains both public and private data, staff separate them. You only get the public portion. The process follows the rules in Chapter 13 of the Minnesota Statutes, which governs all government data in the state.

Online Police Blotter Resources for Brown County

Brown County has several online resources for blotter data. The Sheriff's Office maintains an active jail roster at brownso.org/agency-data/jail-roster/. The roster includes booking photos, booking numbers, charges, bond information, arresting agency, booking dates, and inmate demographics. This is one of the more detailed public jail rosters available for a Minnesota county of this size. A PDF version of the roster is also available at co.brown.mn.us.

The New Ulm Journal at nujournal.com/news/police-logs/ publishes regular police log summaries. These logs cover the Sheriff's Office, New Ulm PD, and Sleepy Eye PD. They are a convenient way to track recent law enforcement activity in the county. For court records connected to any arrest, use the Minnesota Courts website. And for inmate searches, VineLink covers Brown County in addition to the local jail roster.

The screenshot below shows the Brown County Sheriff's Office jail roster, which is publicly accessible and updated regularly with current inmate data.

The jail roster at brownso.org lists current inmates with photos, charges, and booking information as part of the county's public records access.

Brown County Jail and Inmate Records

The Brown County Jail was built in 1994 and has a capacity of 56 beds. It holds male and female offenders and is managed by the Sheriff's Office. The jail administrator is Steve Appel, and the facility is staffed by 15 correctional officers plus a jail programmer. The jail holds people charged with crimes and awaiting trial (misdemeanor to felony), those awaiting sentencing, those serving sentences of less than one year, and those awaiting DOC transfer.

The jail offers several programs. Inmates can pursue GED preparation and receive substance abuse assistance. The Parenting Inside Out program is available. Work programs include Huber Work Release, Sentenced to Service, and in-house work assignments. Healthcare is provided by a public health nurse, doctor, and mental health professionals. The jail also offers religious services and commissary.

Visitation requires a call to the jail at least 24 hours in advance. Call (507) 233-6775 to schedule. For property drop-off, items must be pre-approved. Prohibited items include alcohol, drugs, tobacco, lighters, liquids, and sharp objects. The bag size limit is 18 x 14 x 8 inches. The image below shows the Brown County Jail information page from the county website.

The Brown County Jail page at co.brown.mn.us details inmate programs, visitation policies, and property drop-off rules for the county facility.

The New Ulm Journal also covers jail-related news and police logs. The screenshot below is from the Journal's police logs section, which publishes blotter data sourced from law enforcement agencies in Brown County.

The New Ulm Journal police logs section covers Sheriff's Office, New Ulm PD, and Sleepy Eye PD activity and is updated regularly.

Cities in Brown County

Brown County includes New Ulm (the county seat) and Sleepy Eye, along with other smaller communities. No cities in the county meet the population threshold for individual city pages on this site. The New Ulm Police Department and Sleepy Eye Police Department handle incidents within their respective city limits. The Sheriff's Office covers the rest of the county.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Brown County. Each has its own records process and law enforcement contacts.