Red Lake County Inmate Population Overview
Red Lake County does not operate a standalone jail building or a separate Red Lake County jail roster. The county sheriff's official FAQ points prisoner, transfer, and visitation questions to Tri-County Community Corrections in Crookston. The operating jail facility for Red Lake County arrestees is the Northwest Regional Corrections Center, often shortened to NWRCC. It serves Norman, Polk, and Red Lake Counties through a regional corrections system, so the public jail count is regional rather than Red Lake County-only.
The Red Lake County inmate population can rise or fall for several reasons. New arrests, court remands, warrants, probation holds, parole violations, and immigration holds can add people to the current jail roster. Release orders, bail, transfers to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, or movement to federal or ICE custody can remove them from the local roster. That is why the same name may appear first in the NWRCC PDF, later in MNDOC Public Viewer, or not at all if the case is only in court records.
Local custody point: Red Lake Falls is the sheriff and court hub, but jail custody for Red Lake County normally routes to Crookston.
Red Lake County Inmate Population Statistics
The most current public jail count located in the research is the NWRCC roster PDF printed on June 18, 2026. That file listed 92 rows across the regional jail roster. The facility page says NWRCC is licensed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections to house up to 200 inmates. Those figures are useful, but they are not a Red Lake County-only average daily population because the roster also covers Norman County, Polk County, state contract inmates, and people held for other jurisdictions.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| NWRCC licensed capacity | Up to 200 inmates | NWRCC official facility page, accessed June 18, 2026 |
| Current public roster count | 92 rows | NWRCC roster PDF printed June 18, 2026, 7:38:38 AM |
| Red Lake County 2020 population | 3,874 | TCCC 2024-2025 Comprehensive Plan |
| Three-county service area | 41,897 people across 3,307 square miles | TCCC 2024-2025 Comprehensive Plan |
| Minnesota incarceration rate | 323 per 100,000 people | Prison Policy Initiative Minnesota profile |
Red Lake County Jail Population Trends
Public trend data is limited because official Red Lake County-only jail average daily population, annual bookings, average length of stay, and county-only demographic tables were not located. The clearest trend sources describe the regional facility. Older news reported that Tri-County averaged about 185 inmates in 2019, while MPR later reported that a December 2021 worker shortage closed 60 beds. Current official materials still describe NWRCC as licensed up to 200 inmates, and the June 18, 2026 public roster was below that licensed capacity.
| Year / Date | Population or Capacity Point | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | About 185 average daily inmates reported in news | Regional jail context, not an official Red Lake County-only count. |
| December 2021 | 60 beds closed due to worker shortage | MPR reported staffing problems affected available capacity. |
| 2024-2025 plan | Regional facility still structured around 200 licensed beds | Official TCCC planning context. |
| June 18, 2026 | 92 roster rows | Current public PDF roster count, including multiple custody sources. |
Because the Red Lake County inmate population is embedded inside a regional jail count, the safest reading is narrow. The current roster shows who is held at NWRCC on the public list. It does not prove the exact number of Red Lake County defendants in custody on that date.
Who Is in Red Lake County Jail Custody
The NWRCC roster page says the roster includes people incarcerated on local county charges, people held under contract with the State of Minnesota, and people held on warrants or holds from other jurisdictions. The June 18, 2026 roster showed a mix of controlling charges and status terms, including felonies, gross misdemeanors, misdemeanors, probation violations, parole violations, failure-to-appear entries, fugitive-from-justice entries, and INS holds. The public PDF does not publish a clean Red Lake County field, sex field, race field, housing unit, bond amount, or pretrial-versus-sentenced status field.
- Controlling charge
- The main charge or hold displayed on the roster row, not always the final court charge.
- Hold
- Another agency or court may have a custody claim that can block release by bail alone.
- DOC custody
- State prison or supervision under MNDOC after sentencing, separate from the regional jail roster.
- INS hold
- An immigration-related hold may appear locally while the person remains housed at NWRCC.
Red Lake County Jail Capacity Law
Minnesota law sets the framework for jail data, public access, facility licensing, jail standards, and death-in-custody reporting. For Red Lake County inmate population questions, those laws work together with TCCC's local data-practices process. Public jail facts may be available, but medical, juvenile, safety-sensitive, financial, and other private corrections data may be withheld or redacted.
Key Minnesota rules:
Minnesota Statutes 13.03 sets the general rule that public government data must be accessible unless another law classifies it differently.
Minnesota Statutes 13.85 governs corrections and detention data created because of lawful confinement in jails, prisons, lockups, and detention facilities.
Minnesota Statutes 241.021 authorizes correctional facility licensing and requires death-in-custody reporting by facility administrators.
Minnesota Rules Chapter 2911 sets minimum jail standards, including classifications, capacity, security, records, sanitation, and inmate welfare.
Why Red Lake County Uses NWRCC
Red Lake County is small and rural. The TCCC comprehensive plan lists the county's 2020 population as 3,874 and describes a three-county service area that covers 3,307 square miles. A regional corrections model gives Norman, Polk, and Red Lake Counties a shared jail, shared corrections board, and shared staffing resources. Tri-County Community Corrections was formed in 1976 through joint powers legislation, and its board includes county commissioners from the member counties.
The regional model also explains why a Red Lake County inmate lookup can feel indirect. The Red Lake County Sheriff's Office in Red Lake Falls handles local law-enforcement duties, the Red Lake County District Court handles local court cases, and NWRCC in Crookston handles jail custody. Visitors from Red Lake Falls should plan for regional travel and winter road conditions before going to Crookston for approved on-site video visits.
Search the Red Lake County Inmate Population
The official current jail lookup is the TCCC Local Inmate Roster page. It links to a current PDF roster rather than an interactive database. The page says the roster is updated Monday through Friday morning. A same-day booking, weekend arrest, transfer, or release may not be reflected until the next update.
The roster page captured for this build is shown in the screenshot below from the TCCC roster source. It explains the local roster coverage and points users to other systems for U.S. Marshals and ICE information.
The screenshot matters because it confirms the Red Lake County inmate search is a roster-PDF workflow, not a name-search web form.
- Open the TCCC Local Inmate Roster page and select the current roster PDF.
- Use the PDF find tool for the last name, first name, charge text, statute number, or incarceration date.
- Review the row for the photo, incarceration date, date of birth, and controlling charge.
- If the person is not listed, call NWRCC at 218-470-8100 option 3 or use the 24/7 sergeant numbers.
- If the person was sentenced to state prison, search MNDOC instead of the jail roster.
Red Lake County Roster Lookup Fields
The NWRCC roster has no search form fields. The official search method is opening the PDF and using browser or PDF controls. That simple format is important because it limits what the public can filter. It also means the reader should not expect a booking profile with bond, housing, arresting agency, full case history, or release status.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| None; PDF roster only | N/A | N/A | Use PDF find for name, charge text, statute number, or date. |
| Inmate Photo | Image column | N/A | Shows a booking-style photo or image area. |
| Incarceration Date | Date | N/A | Observed in M/D/YYYY format. |
| Date of Birth | Date | N/A | Observed in M/D/YYYY format. |
| Controlling Charge | Text | N/A | Often includes class abbreviations and Minnesota statute references. |
Red Lake County Inmate Record Fields
The public NWRCC roster is a list, not a click-through profile. It gives enough information to identify a current custody entry, then leaves deeper booking, court, bond, or release questions to court administration, the jail information line, or a data-practices request. The public row can still be useful because it shows a current custody marker and the controlling charge used by the facility.
| Field | NWRCC Roster Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | Last, first, middle name or suffix when present. |
| Photo | Yes, through the Inmate Photo column. |
| Incarceration date | Yes, but not the full arrest report. |
| Date of birth | Yes. |
| Charge | Controlling charge only. |
| Bond and housing | Not shown in the public PDF. |
| Court date | Not shown; use Red Lake County District Court or MCRO. |
Past Red Lake County Inmate Records
The NWRCC roster is built for current custody. No official Red Lake County historical jail roster, released-inmate database, or archived mugshot gallery was located. For a past booking, use a public-records request through TCCC if the record was created by the regional jail. TCCC's Data Practices page names a responsible authority and provides a government data request process for inspection or copies.
The TCCC data-practices page is the best local route when the current PDF no longer lists the person. Ask for a defined record, such as a booking record or booking photo tied to a known name and date. Inspection is listed as free on the form, while copies may carry a fee. For sheriff-created law-enforcement data before jail transfer, the Red Lake County Sheriff's Office is the local records contact.
Red Lake County Jail vs Prison Search
A Red Lake County arrest can move through more than one custody system. The regional jail roster covers current jail custody. MNDOC covers adults committed to the Commissioner of Corrections and still under DOC jurisdiction. Federal sentenced cases use the BOP locator, and immigration detention after transfer uses ICE ODLS. A person with a local INS hold may appear on the jail roster while still housed at NWRCC, then disappear from that local list after transfer.
| Custody Type | Where to Look | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| County or regional jail | TCCC Local Inmate Roster | Current NWRCC inmates, local charges, warrants, state contract inmates, and some holds. |
| State prison or supervision | MNDOC Public Viewer | Adults committed to MNDOC and still under state jurisdiction. |
| Federal sentenced custody | BOP Inmate Locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present. |
| Immigration detention | ICE Online Detainee Locator | People in ICE custody or CBP custody longer than 48 hours. |
Red Lake County Custody Notifications
Minnesota VINE is available for county jail custody notifications, and Minnesota Haven covers DOC status and release notification. These tools do not replace the jail roster or court record. They are notification systems for people who need alerts about custody status changes. For a Red Lake County case, that distinction matters because jail, court, and prison systems can change at different speeds.
The Minnesota VINE page provides the statewide custody-notification entry point. The MNDOC victim notification page explains Haven for state prison cases. When a person is newly booked, start with NWRCC. When a person has been sentenced to prison, use MNDOC and Haven.
Red Lake County Detention Facility
Only one detention facility was identified as the operating jail path for Red Lake County. No Minnesota state prison, federal BOP institution, or ICE-owned detention center was found inside Red Lake County. The Red Lake Nation Detention Center was not treated as the county jail because the sheriff's official FAQ directs Red Lake County jailing to Tri-County in Crookston.
- Northwest Regional Corrections Center serves Norman, Polk, and Red Lake Counties as a regional Class III jail for local charges, warrants and holds, state contract inmates, and some immigration holds while housed locally.
Red Lake County Jail Conditions Context
NWRCC's program page lists Adult Basic Education, GED preparation and testing, anger management, coping skills, Decision Points, domestic violence education, financial literacy, healthy relationships, and substance-abuse support. The facility notes that it hosts one of the few adult jail GED testing sites in Minnesota. These programs are part of the regional corrections model rather than a separate Red Lake County jail program.
Recent official context includes the TCCC 2024-2025 Comprehensive Plan and a 2025 NWRCC inspection report in the MNDOC adult facility inspection archive. News context also described staffing strain in 2021 and 2022, including temporary closure of a 60-bed unit. Use official sources first for compliance and current capacity, and treat older news as background.
Red Lake County Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Red Lake County inmate population? The located official sources did not publish a Red Lake County-only jail count. The NWRCC roster PDF printed on June 18, 2026 listed 92 regional roster rows, while the facility is licensed for up to 200 inmates.
How do I search for a Red Lake County inmate? Open the TCCC Local Inmate Roster page, then use the current roster PDF. Search the PDF by name or charge text. If the person was sentenced to prison, use MNDOC instead.
Why is the jail in Crookston? Red Lake County uses a regional jail operated by Tri-County Community Corrections. The sheriff's office and district court remain in Red Lake Falls, but jail custody routes to NWRCC in Crookston.
Does the roster show mugshots? Yes. The NWRCC roster PDF has an Inmate Photo column. It does not provide a separate mugshot archive, full booking history, bond amount, housing unit, or release history.
Where are court charges found after arrest? Use Minnesota Court Records Online and Red Lake County District Court. Pending criminal cases may not appear by defendant-name search in MCRO until conviction.