Washington County Police Blotter Records
The Washington County Sheriff's Office keeps police blotter records for communities across the county, from Stillwater to Woodbury, covering arrest logs, incident reports, and daily jail booking data made public under Minnesota's data practices law. If you need to look up recent law enforcement activity, check an arrest, or get a copy of a report, this page explains how the county handles those requests and where to start.
Washington County Sheriff's Office
Washington County sits just east of the Twin Cities metro and borders Ramsey County to the west, stretching out to the St. Croix River. The county seat is Stillwater. The Sheriff's Office runs out of the Law Enforcement Center at 15015 62nd Street North, Stillwater, MN 55082. The main line is (651) 430-7600. For non-emergency calls, use (651) 439-9381. The Jail Division has its own number: (651) 430-7900.
Under Minn. Stat. § 13.82, law enforcement agencies must make certain data public. This covers arrest data, calls for service logs, and incident summaries. Washington County follows these rules, and most blotter-type records are accessible either online or by a direct request. If you know what you're looking for, the process is fairly simple.
Online Records Portal
Washington County uses the NextRequest platform for public data requests. The Washington County Sheriff NextRequest portal lets you submit a request, track its status, upload ID or authorization forms if needed, and communicate with records staff without calling or visiting in person. Anonymous requests are accepted. You don't need to give your name to request most public records.
Inspecting data in person is free during business hours. Fees apply when copies are made. If you want to submit a new request right away, the direct link is the NextRequest new request page.
The Washington County Sheriff's NextRequest portal is the county's primary tool for submitting and tracking public records requests, including police blotter and arrest data.
The portal stores your request history if you create an account, which makes it easy to follow up or reference past submissions.
Daily Jail Booking Report
One of the most useful tools for checking recent police blotter activity is the Daily Jail Booking Report. The county posts this as a PDF each day. It shows arrests made by multiple agencies across the county, not just the Sheriff's Office. You can find it at the Washington County Daily Jail Booking Report page.
This report is public data under Minn. Stat. § 13.82, which requires law enforcement to release arrest records including the arrested person's name, date of birth, the time and date of the arrest, the charges filed, and the arresting agency. This data is public regardless of what happens in court afterward. Charges can be dropped or reduced, but the arrest record itself stays public.
The county also publishes a real-time Adult Inmate Roster as a PDF, updated multiple times each day. It shows who is currently held in the Washington County Jail. The jail is a 228-bed direct supervision facility that opened in June 1993. It holds male and female inmates, both pre-trial detainees and sentenced inmates. There is also a medical unit and an 8-day temporary holding section for juvenile detainees in limited circumstances.
The county's daily booking report and inmate roster are among the most direct ways to check recent arrest and custody data in Washington County.
Both the booking report and the inmate roster are updated regularly and don't require a formal records request to access.
How to Request Records
There are several ways to get police blotter records from Washington County. Online is often the fastest route. You can submit through the NextRequest portal, or email the county's Data Practices office at WCA-Datapractices@washingtoncountymn.gov for records that don't involve law enforcement data. In-person requests are accepted Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, at the Law Enforcement Center in Stillwater. Phone requests are also handled at (651) 430-7600 during those same hours.
Minnesota's data practices law, Minn. Stat. § 13.03, sets the framework for how agencies respond to data requests. Agencies must respond promptly. If they deny access to any part of a request, they must cite a specific legal reason. Most arrest and incident data covered by § 13.82 is public by default, so denials on that type of data are not common. The county's Data Practices page at co.washington.mn.us/1822/Data-Practices explains your rights and how the process works in detail.
Jail Division and Inmate Info
The Washington County Jail uses a direct supervision model. Deputies work inside housing units with inmates rather than from a control room. This is considered a more effective approach for managing behavior and safety. The jail holds both men and women, and it has a dedicated transport unit that runs five days a week to move inmates to courts, medical appointments, or other facilities.
To find out if someone is held in the Washington County Jail, check the real-time inmate roster or use the VINE system. VINE lets victims and other interested parties sign up for automatic alerts when an inmate's custody status changes, including releases, transfers, or court appearances. Call the Jail Division at (651) 430-7900 for direct questions about custody status.
The jail also offers Book in Motion appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Civil applicant fingerprinting is available on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and on Fridays from 10:00 AM to noon. These services require scheduling ahead of time.
What § 13.82 Makes Public
Minn. Stat. § 13.82 is the core law for law enforcement data in Minnesota. It spells out exactly what must be released and what can stay private. Public data under this section includes the time and date of calls for service, the address or general location of incidents, the type of call, and the names and ages of people arrested. It also covers the specific charges, the time of arrest, and the name of the arresting agency. This is what most people think of as a police blotter.
Some data stays protected. Victim names are often private, especially in sexual assault or domestic violence cases. Active investigative data is generally protected while the investigation is open. Once a case is closed or charges are filed in court, more data often becomes public. If the county withholds part of a response, they must tell you why and cite the law that allows it.
Cities in Washington County
Washington County includes many communities in the eastern Twin Cities metro. The county's largest city is Woodbury, which has its own police department. Incidents within Woodbury are handled by the Woodbury Police Department. For incidents in unincorporated areas or smaller communities without their own departments, the Sheriff's Office is the primary agency. Other cities in the county include Stillwater, Oakdale, Lake Elmo, Forest Lake, and Cottage Grove, among others.
Nearby Counties
If you need records from a neighboring area, each of these county sheriff's offices handles its own blotter data under the same state law:
- Ramsey County - St. Paul area, directly west of Washington County
- Anoka County - north of Ramsey, covers the northern metro suburbs
- Chisago County - north of Washington along the St. Croix corridor
- Dakota County - south of Ramsey, includes Apple Valley and Eagan
- Goodhue County - southeast of Washington, county seat in Red Wing
Court Records
Criminal court records for Washington County cases go through the Tenth Judicial District. If you need court filings, case outcomes, or sentencing records beyond what the blotter covers, the district court is the right place to look. Minnesota's public case search tool at mncourts.gov covers Washington County criminal and civil cases. Court records and police blotter records are separate systems, but they often track the same events at different stages of the legal process.