The Washington County Court Administration accepts payments in person by cash, cashiers check, money order, or credit card.  They also accept credit cards by phone at 651-430-6281.  The Washington County Sheriff's Office accepts payments in person in cash only.

 
Who do I contact to...get a copy of a police report/accident report?
If you were involved in the incident, you can pick up a copy of the report at the Records window in the main lobby of the Law Enforcement Center. See the Sheriff's Office Fee Schedule for report costs. If the case is still under active investigation or in the charging process, we may be unable to release the report. Contact the Records Division at 651-430-7650 if you have questions on this process. Directions to the Law Enforcement Center are available on the Contact Info page. 

 
Who do I contact to...check on an open case?
In many instances information on open cases or investigations cannot be released. If you were the victim of a crime, you can call the Records Division at 651.430.7650 during regular business hours to see what information is available or speak to the investigator assigned to your case. If you want to provide more information on a case you have reported, contact the originating officer or investigator directly or through the dispatch center at 651-439-9381.

 
Who do I contact to...see if a particular person is in jail?
Check the Jail Bookings page on this website for a list of all persons booked within the last week or call the Jail Division at 651-430-7900. For general jail information, please see the Jail Division Pages  , or call 651-430-7900. A list of every adult in custody (in jail) is available at the jail information window every day after 7:00 AM.

 
Who do I contact to...check someone's police/criminal record?
If you want to check the Sheriff's Office records to see if we have had any contacts with the person, you can do this by calling the Records Division at 651-430-7650 during regular business hours or faxing a request to 651-430-7673. They will be able to search by the person's name and provide any public information about the person that we have in our files. The search is easier the more information you are able to provide (such as full name including middle name or initial, birth date or approximate age, or address). Unfortunately, each police department keeps their own records, so you would have to check with each jurisdiction the person could have had contact with to get a full picture. Contact numbers for the other Washington County Police Departments are posted on the Contact Info page .

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) maintains a criminal history database of all convictions in the state. Currently, the only public access terminal for this system is located at their main office at 1430 Maryland Ave in Saint Paul. At that terminal, you would be able to look up public criminal history information on any adult in their database.  Starting in August 2005, most public criminal history records searches are free through the Minnesota Public Criminal History Search page.

Most district courts allow public inquiry on public court records. Washington County has such terminals at our court locations in Stillwater, Cottage Grove, and Forest Lake and would have information on court cases occurring in the county.

Some other places that you may want to look at for assistance are:

-Minnesota Department of Public Safety ( http://www.dps.state.mn.us  ) and their Crime Victim Services office

-Minnesota Department of Corrections ( http://www.corr.state.mn.us  ) to see if the person is currently in a state prison

-Washington County Court Services (651-430-6900) if you think the person is still on probation in Washington County


 
Who do I contact to...see if there is a registered sex offender/predatory offender in my neighborhood?
The Minnesota Department of Corrections maintains a database of registered Level 3 offenders at http://www.corr.state.mn.us. Once you are at that site, click on "Level 3 Sex Offender/Predatory Offender Locator". Current state law only permits wide spread public notification of Level 3 offenders as classified by the state Department of Corrections. The web site listed above has a good explanation of the three levels of offenders and notification requirements.  Local law enforcement agencies will forward the information on level 3 offenders to be included on the state web site after the community notification permitted by law has occurred.  If your city is not listed, there are no level 3 offenders registered in your area.

 
Who do I contact to...get a copy of the daily jail/booking report?
Information on Adults booked into the jail is public information and is available for public review (at no cost) on the Jail Bookings page of this web site or during normal business hours at the Records window in the Law Enforcement Center. This report is produced daily and copies are available for $5.00 per day.  Information on juveniles who have been detained is not public information and is not available for release on these reports. See the Sheriff's Office Fee Schedule   for costs.

A list of adults currently in jail is available every day after 7am for public review by request in the Jail lobby. This report is not available by subscription.

 
Who do I contact to...apply for a permit to purchase or carry a firearm?
For Permits to Purchase a firearm: This must be done in person at the primary law enforcement agency where you live. For persons living in areas of Washington County not covered by a local police department, this can be done at the Records window in the main lobby of the Law Enforcement Center in Stillwater. (See the Contact Info page  for directions.) You must present a government-issued photo ID at the time you submit the forms. The permit to purchase application is a short form that should just take a few minutes to complete.

For Permits to Carry a Pistol (i.e. Concealed Carry permit): The permit to carry application is a packet of forms that will take longer to complete and requires training certification in addition to other forms and information. See the Handgun Permit page   for more details.

 
Who do I contact to...find out the fine or court information on a ticket I received?
Contact the Washington County Court Administration at 651-430-6281. It can take up to 14 days for a new citation to be entered into the courts system, but citations created on Washington County's computerized auto-citation system are generally available within 24 hours.

 
Who do I contact to...locate which publication you list the mortgage foreclosures in?
Actually, the Sheriff's Office does not publish mortgage foreclosure notices. By statute, the mortgage holder (i.e. bank) has to publish the notice in any newspaper that at least 500 Washington County residents receive. This includes the big papers like the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune, but they could select any of the small, community papers instead. Since the statute only requires a 500 resident distribution, the mortgage holder could intentionally publish in a very small paper since those are often cheaper and not as widely read.

We do maintain a log of the sale results with copies of the notices that are available after the sale for public review in the civil office here in Stillwater at no cost.

If you want to review the records in person, you can come to the Law Enforcement Center during business hours.

 
Who do I contact to...get a Sheriff's Office shoulder patch for my collection?
Due to the large number of requests we receive for shoulder patches or other police memorabilia and the expense of participating in a collection or exchange program, we are unable to honor requests for our shoulder patches or other police memorabilia, even if the collector offers to pay for the supplies. We appreciate the interest in the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

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