One search box covers adults at both county buildings. Try it this way:

1. Pull up the Inmate Locator.
2. Enter the surname first. Too many hits? Add a given name to trim them.
3. Pick the matching person and note whether the record says jail or workhouse.
4. Scan for a release date, or a remark about a move to an outside jail.
5. Jot down whatever number appears on the record, since reading it to staff speeds up a call.

Court status lives in the state court system, separate from this tool. For the booking charge, a bail figure or a release time, ring 763-324-5100.

Coming up empty right after an arrest is common and usually fixes itself. Likely causes:

• Booking is under way. Prints, photos and forms are handled before a record goes live.
• Officers still have them. A city department may hold an interview before the ride to Jackson Street.
• Ticketed and freed. Plenty of misdemeanor stops wrap up with a ticket and a court date, not a cell.
• Released by the court. The first hearing may have ended with the person walking out.
• Housed somewhere else. Full beds can mean a transfer, and a stop made over the line in Hennepin, Ramsey or another county ends at that county's jail.
• Spelled differently. Try other spellings: a nickname, a former last name, or just one part of a two-part surname.
• Still a teen. Anyone under 18 goes through juvenile channels, and the locator covers adults.

For a quick answer, phone 763-324-5100.

Both adult buildings are in the city of Anoka:

• Anoka County Jail, the Sheriff's Jail Division, 325 E Jackson Street, Anoka, MN 55303, 763-324-5100. Its 238 beds hold mostly people who are not yet sentenced.
• Workhouse, a Community Corrections site in the Vail Building of the Rum River Human Services Center, 3300 4th Avenue N., Anoka, MN 55303, 763-324-4860. This 240-bed, minimum-security unit houses sentenced men and women. With the court's okay and proof of a job, a resident may leave for work during the day (work release, or Huber). Residents without jobs may be put on supervised work crews.

When beds fill up, people from either building can be shifted to an outside jail. Arrests past the county line can send someone to Hennepin, Ramsey or Sherburne instead:

• Hennepin County Jail (Adult Detention Center), Public Safety Facility, 401 South 4th Avenue, Suite 100, Minneapolis, MN 55415, 612-348-5112
• Ramsey County Adult Detention Center, 425 Grove Street, Saint Paul, MN 55101, 651-266-9350
• Sherburne County Jail in Elk River, whose Sheriff's Office is at 13880 Business Center Drive NW, Suite 100, Elk River, MN 55330, 763-765-3500

Under the state's data practices law, a booking photo counts as public data. An agency may sit on a photo temporarily if putting it out would damage an ongoing investigation (Minn. Stat. 13.82, subd. 26). Basic arrest data is open too, such as the charge, custody status and any release, and the arresting agency keeps it (Minn. Stat. 13.82, subd. 2).

So aim a mugshots request at the office behind the arrest. When deputies did it, phone the Sheriff's Office at 763-324-5000 and ask about the booking photo. When a city officer did it, reach out to that city's department.

• ICE booking pictures: ask through ICE's records request page.
• Most federal agencies hold back booking pictures. The U.S. Marshals Service is the exception that sometimes releases one, as in a manhunt.

Minnesota VINE, which the state Public Safety department operates, sends a notice if a county jail lets the person go or ships them elsewhere.

• Register online at VINELink or call 877-664-8463. Alerts begin only after you enroll.
• Once someone enters a state prison, VINE no longer covers them. For that, sign up with Minnesota Haven, the DOC's notice system.
• Missed the release? The county's Inmate Locator keeps former residents listed for 30 days.

Release terms get fixed by a District Court judge during the first appearance. When police arrested someone without a warrant, that appearance has to happen within 36 hours, and that clock ignores the arrest day, Sundays and legal holidays, as the criminal rules direct (Rule 4.02, subd. 5). A second deadline applies too: within 48 hours, weekends included, a judge has to confirm probable cause (Rule 4.03).

• Release comes first. The judge's starting point is freedom on a signed promise to return, with only the conditions that safety or a court return truly calls for (Rule 6.02).
• Often two figures. The same rule makes the judge set a bail amount carrying no conditions. Orders therefore tend to show a smaller sum tied to conditions next to a bigger sum with none.
• Some arrests skip the ticket. Domestic assault, stalking and protection-order arrests can't end with a ticket on the spot; the person goes to jail and then sees a judge (Minn. Stat. 629.72).
• Pretrial reports. In certain cases, Community Corrections, 2100 3rd Avenue, Suite C100, Anoka, MN 55303, 763-324-4800, writes a bail evaluation that the judge reads.
• Bondsmen. Minnesota's Commerce Department licenses them. The premium is $100 or more, and it is not refunded, win or lose (Minn. Stat. 60M.02).
• Money bail left with the court. The court administrator holds it, and the law books it as the defendant's money, no matter which relative paid it in. Fines and restitution owed in the case can be paid out of it before anything comes back. Whatever is left returns to the defendant, who can route it to a parent or friend by signing form CRM602 (Minn. Stat. 629.53).

Check with jail staff at 763-324-5100 on where and when payments are accepted. For more, open our local bail page, while the state bail law overview sums up Minnesota's rules.

Filed cases can be looked up free of charge on Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO). Type a name or case number, then click into the case to read each count and every event so far. Certain juvenile files are kept out of view.

Charges fall into four levels by maximum penalty (Minn. Stat. 609.02, 609.03):

• Petty misdemeanor: fine capped at $300, with no jail time possible.
• Misdemeanor: up to 90 days locked up, up to $1,000 in fines, or the two together.
• Gross misdemeanor: a 364-day cap and a $3,000 fine cap, alone or together.
• Felony: the sentence on the books can reach a year or more in prison.

If nothing is filed yet, staff at 763-324-5100 can read you the booking charge. Court Administration, 763-760-6700, can track down a case number.

Money tight? Charged with a felony or a gross misdemeanor? Same for a misdemeanor that could mean jail. Then Minn. Stat. 611.14 lets the person ask the court for a public defender. A sworn statement of income and bills goes to the judge, who makes the call. Someone already on needs-based aid gets a head start, since the law presumes they qualify (Minn. Stat. 611.17).

• Speak up at the first hearing. Application forms come from Court Administration, 2100 3rd Ave, Anoka, MN 55303, 763-760-6700, and every answer must be complete and true.
• Public defenders for the Tenth District work from an office at 901 West Main Street, Suite 100, Anoka, MN 55303, 763-422-3350.

Paying for a private attorney works too. Attorneys, probation agents and other court officers may see clients at the jail by showing professional ID, and the jail may allow them contact visits.

Personal visits at both buildings happen on a screen. The details differ:

• Jail lobby video. Friends and relatives use video stations inside the jail at 325 E Jackson Street, Anoka, MN 55303. Arriving more than five minutes ahead isn't allowed, and groups shouldn't linger in the lobby.
• Jail visits from home. ICSolutions handles paid remote video sessions, which must be booked 24 hours or more in advance.
• Workhouse. Turnkey Corrections kiosks stand in every housing unit. Families schedule through the Inmate Canteen site with a paid account, using a webcam or a phone that does video. Questions go to 763-324-4860.

Hours, ID rules and whether children may join are best checked at 763-324-5100 before the first trip. More pointers sit in our visitation guide.

Account funds pay for canteen snacks, soap and similar items, and at the workhouse for phone calls too. Each building has its own methods:

• Jail, by internet. Use Inmate Canteen. The jail's commissary contractor is Turnkey Corrections.
• Jail lobby kiosk. At 325 E Jackson Street, Anoka, MN 55303, a machine accepts cash plus debit and credit cards from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., seven days a week.
• Workhouse. Card payments work through Inmate Canteen online or in person during visiting hours. Money orders payable to "ACC" are also taken; ring 763-324-4860 for where to deliver one.

The jail bans cash, personal or payroll checks, money orders and gift cards in the mail, so keep money out of envelopes. Deposit questions: 763-324-5100. Read our deposit guide and our commissary explainer.

Inside the jail, people use a phone and messaging service along with a tablet system. Ring 763-324-5100 and ask who provides them, the rates and how families sign up. Workhouse residents use unit pay phones that draw from their store accounts; that staff can be reached at 763-324-4860.

• Scam alert. No one from the Sheriff's Office will call you demanding payment. Hang up on such a caller and dial the jail on your own.
• Keep the case off the line. Talk about the charges belongs in lawyer meetings, not on these calls.

For general setup tips, see the calling guide and the guide to messages.

Letters to the jail are scanned, and anything outside the rules is sent back. Put the full name first, then this address:

Anoka County Jail, 325 E Jackson Street, Anoka, MN 55303

• Limit each mailing to five pieces.
• Photos must be 4x6 or smaller; sheets of paper, 8.5 by 11 or smaller.
• The jail rejects blank paper, musical, pop-up or oversized cards, cards decorated with stickers or glitter, padded envelopes, boxes and stamps.
• Also rejected: pre-stamped or pre-addressed envelopes, anything stained, and magazines or newspapers.
• Postage-due and C.O.D. items are refused.
• Envelopes marked as legal mail are opened with the recipient present.

Rejected pieces return to the sender, or are destroyed when there is no return address. Letters reaching the jail after a release or transfer bounce back too. Workhouse letters go to: resident's name, Anoka County Corrections, Anoka County Workhouse, 2100 3rd Ave STE C100, Anoka, MN 55303-5037. Our mail tips page has more.

Anything logged at booking, like wallets, phones and clothes, is held by the jail. Before collecting items for someone, phone 763-324-5100 and ask for property release, along with these points:

• Does your loved one need to sign paperwork letting you take the items?
• Which photo ID do you need?
• When can you come to 325 E Jackson Street, Anoka, MN 55303?

Workhouse property questions go to 763-324-4860.

Ring the jail at 763-324-5100 and ask for medical staff. Have a list ready: each drug, its dose, and the prescriber, with that clinic's phone. Mention any risk of withdrawal or a mental health crisis right away. The person inside can also tell jail staff about a health need.

• Workhouse residents: call 763-324-4860.
• Sexual abuse or harassment at the workhouse can be reported on its PREA hotline, 763-324-4886.
• If a life is in danger right now, call 911.

Warrant questions start with the Sheriff's Office. Headquarters for the Sheriff's Office is at 13301 Hanson Blvd NW, Andover, MN 55304, 763-324-5000, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Check a name through the county's Online Warrant Search, or ring the warrants line, 763-422-7500. Statewide, the Department of Corrections names people wanted for supervised-release violations on its Wanted Fugitives page. For filed court cases, which are different from warrants, use Minnesota Court Records Online. Clearing a warrant starts with a lawyer, followed by contact with the issuing court. Here that means Court Administration at 2100 3rd Ave, Anoka, MN 55303, 763-760-6700.

Criminal hearings take place at the courthouse, 2100 3rd Ave, Anoka, MN 55303. Call Court Administration at 763-760-6700, or look up scheduled hearings by name with the state's Hearing Search.

• Within about 42 days after the first appearance, there is usually an omnibus hearing, where evidence issues are argued (Rule 11.01).
• Under Rule 11.09, demanding a speedy trial means it must begin within 60 days.
• A person ordered to serve time at the workhouse has to show up at the Vail Building, 3300 4th Avenue N., Anoka, MN 55303, on the exact date and hour given. Missing it brings a warrant. Rescheduling requires a call to 763-324-4860 at least 72 hours early, costs $30 and is allowed once.

Curious how a case unfolds after day one? Our court page lays it out.

Federal crimes are tried in Minnesota's single U.S. District Court. The courthouse nearest this county is the Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse, 300 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415, with the clerk at 612-664-5000.

1. At a detention hearing, the federal judge picks between holding the person until trial and letting them out (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Pretrial custody belongs to the U.S. Marshals Service, 300 South 4th Street, Suite 402, Minneapolis, MN 55415, 612-664-5900. Its staff can tell families where the person is housed.
3. The Sherburne County Jail holds a large share of the Marshals' prisoners in this state. Its Sheriff's Office is at 13880 Business Center Drive NW, Suite 100, Elk River, MN 55330, 763-765-3500.
4. After sentencing, the search moves to the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

1. First, ICE hands the Jackson Street jail its I-247A detainer form.
2. In it, ICE wants the person held up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)), letting agents get there.
3. Minnesota law on detainers was the subject of a state Attorney General opinion issued February 6, 2025. In that view, once someone is due to walk out, a detainer by itself gives a county jail no legal basis to keep them.
4. People in ICE custody are often housed in county jails. ICE's own list includes the Sherburne jail, reached through the Sheriff's Office at 13880 Business Center Drive NW, Suite 100, Elk River, MN 55330, 763-765-3500.
5. Look the person up with the ICE Online Detainee Locator. The search accepts an A-number or a name with native country.

ICE's ERO St. Paul Field Office sits at 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600.

Prison time puts the person in DOC hands; DOC is short for the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Next, the person stays on Jackson Street until deputies make the drive to the DOC's intake center. Staff there evaluate and classify new arrivals before a fitting prison is chosen.

• Plug a name into the DOC Offender Locator. Fresh arrivals can stay unlisted for several business days.
• For each prison's visit hours and mailing rules, open our Minnesota state prisons guide.
• Most prisoners serve their last third outside prison walls on supervised release, with DOC oversight.

In Minn. Stat. 260B.007, childhood lasts until the 18th birthday. The District Court has a juvenile division that takes youth cases. A youth taken into custody normally goes home to a parent, unless the youth is a danger or unlikely to show up later (Minn. Stat. 260B.176).

• A youth can sit in secure detention for 36 hours, with weekends and holidays left off. Any longer takes a filed petition plus a judge's sign-off.
• Adult jails and lockups may keep a youth only for a short time: up to 6 hours inside a metro area and 24 hours outside one.
• With a grave charge, a youth aged 14 to 17 can be sent up to adult court. That is called certification. Others become EJJ (extended jurisdiction juvenile) cases, which add a stayed adult sentence.

For a youth's location, ask juvenile court staff through Court Administration, 2100 3rd Ave, Anoka, MN 55303, 763-760-6700, or call Community Corrections, 2100 3rd Avenue, Suite C100, Anoka, MN 55303, 763-324-4800.

With 382,119 residents (an April 1, 2025 estimate from the Minnesota State Demographic Center), the county is policed by these agencies:

• Sheriff's Office, 13301 Hanson Blvd NW, Andover, MN 55304, 763-324-5000. Its deputies patrol Andover, Bethel, Columbus, East Bethel, Ham Lake, Nowthen, Oak Grove and Linwood Township.
• City departments: Anoka Police Department, Blaine Police Department, Centennial Lakes Police Department, Columbia Heights Police Department, Coon Rapids Police Department, Fridley Public Safety Police Division, Lino Lakes Public Safety Police Division, Ramsey Police Department, Spring Lake Park Police Department and St. Francis Police Department.
• Minnesota State Patrol, headquarters at 445 Minnesota Street, Suite 130, Saint Paul, MN 55101, 651-201-7100. For the troopers' district office here, open the State Patrol contact page and choose Anoka in its menu.

Not sure which agency booked the person? Ask jail staff at 763-324-5100, and request that agency's phone number too.