Find Criminal Records in Roseau County

Roseau County criminal records are held at the District Court in Roseau, the county seat in the far north of Minnesota. This county borders both Canada and North Dakota and is part of the 9th Judicial District. Criminal case records here span everything from traffic citations to serious felonies. You can search online through state systems, request records at the courthouse, or check the jail roster for current custody data. This page explains where each type of record is kept and how to access it in Roseau County.

Roseau County Sheriff and Criminal Records

The Roseau County Sheriff's Office is the main law enforcement agency for the county. The Sheriff patrols the county roads, responds to calls in unincorporated areas, and runs the county jail. Arrest data from the Sheriff's Office is public under Minn. Stat. § 13.82. The law requires agencies to release the time and date of arrest, charges filed, and custody status. You can request this data from the Sheriff's Office in the city of Roseau.

The Sheriff also coordinates with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on predatory offender registration. Roseau County residents required to register as predatory offenders do so with local law enforcement. The BCA maintains the statewide registry and shares compliance data with local agencies throughout the 9th District.

The BCA at bca.dps.mn.gov is the state agency that maintains conviction history data for Roseau County and every other county in Minnesota.

How to Search Roseau County Criminal Records

Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us is the free state-run portal for court record searches. It covers Roseau County along with all other 9th Judicial District counties. Enter a name or case number to pull up matching cases. Records filed after July 1, 2015 are free to view and download. Cases before that date require a written or in-person request at the courthouse in Roseau.

The BCA public criminal history search at chs.state.mn.us costs $8 and covers public conviction data for the past 15 years after sentence discharge. The scope of what is public is set by Minn. Stat. § 13.87. Convictions in Roseau County, or anywhere else in Minnesota, will show up here. Arrest records, juvenile cases, and convictions older than 15 years from sentence discharge are not returned in the public search.

Free case searches for Roseau County are available at mncourts.gov through the MCRO system.

For people in state custody or on supervised release, the Minnesota Department of Corrections public viewer at coms.doc.state.mn.us provides free lookup. This is separate from the local jail. If you want to know if someone is in the Roseau County Jail specifically, use the jail roster link instead.

District Court Criminal Cases

The 9th Judicial District Court in Roseau handles all criminal filings for the county. The Court Administrator maintains the official case files. Each case has a register of actions, a unique case number, and documents that track the full life of the case from initial filing through final disposition. To get a certified copy of any document, contact the Court Administrator in Roseau directly.

The 9th Judicial District covers a large portion of northern Minnesota. Judges in this district travel between county courthouses. Criminal filings in Roseau County are processed at the local courthouse, but you may find that scheduling and staffing reflect the travel-heavy nature of a large rural district. Allow extra time when planning in-person visits. Call ahead to confirm hours and staff availability before making the trip.

Criminal Background Checks in Roseau County

The BCA criminal history search covers Roseau County convictions and is the standard tool for public background checks in Minnesota. At $8 per search, the system at chs.state.mn.us returns public conviction data under Minn. Stat. § 13.87. The search covers felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor convictions within 15 years of sentence discharge. It does not return arrest data or juvenile records.

If a record contains an error, the person named in the record has the right to contest accuracy with the BCA under the same statute. The BCA's main office in St. Paul handles disputes and corrections. For fingerprint-based background checks, which go through a federal process and return out-of-state and federal data in addition to Minnesota records, employers or agencies in Roseau County should contact the BCA directly for the correct submission process.

Note: Roseau County residents can get a free in-person review of their own public criminal history at the BCA office in St. Paul. The standard $8 fee applies for online self-searches through CHS.

Expungement in Roseau County

People seeking to seal criminal records in Roseau County file their petitions at the 9th Judicial District Court. Under Minn. Stat. § 609A.015, automatic expungement is available for certain eligible records without any petition. The BCA identifies qualifying records and seals them. Eligible categories include dismissed charges, completed diversions, and certain convictions after a required waiting period. No filing fee applies for automatic expungement.

For cases not eligible for automatic expungement, the petition process under Minn. Stat. § 609A.03 provides a path to seal records. The petition must be filed with the district court, served on the prosecutor and all agencies holding the record, and heard at a court hearing no sooner than 60 days after service. The judge applies a clear and convincing evidence standard. The petitioner must show that the benefit of sealing the record outweighs any public safety concerns. In Roseau County, the hearing takes place at the Roseau courthouse. Expungement seals records but does not destroy them.

Predatory Offender Registry

Roseau County follows the same predatory offender registration rules that apply statewide under Minn. Stat. § 243.166. People convicted of qualifying offenses must register with local law enforcement. Registration involves providing your address, employment location, vehicle information, and other data. Address changes must be reported within five days. Annual in-person verification is required during the registrant's birth month.

Risk level assessments for predatory offenders are conducted under Minn. Stat. § 244.052. The Department of Corrections assesses risk before release and assigns Level I, II, or III status. Level III information is posted publicly on the DOC website. For Roseau County, the local Sheriff's Office receives notification of predatory offenders living in the county and takes appropriate steps based on the assigned risk level. Community organizations that work with vulnerable populations in Roseau County may also receive notification for Level II offenders.

Cities in Roseau County

No major cities in Roseau County meet our population threshold for dedicated pages. Roseau is the county seat and largest city in the county. All criminal cases from communities throughout Roseau County are filed at the District Court in the city of Roseau.

Nearby Counties

Roseau County borders Canada to the north and North Dakota to the west. These neighboring Minnesota counties are part of the same northern Minnesota region.