Find Minnesota Prison Inmate Records

The Department of Corrections in Minnesota State is responsible for the maintenance and updating of all information about the inmates that are locked up in the various prisons of the state. In accordance with Minnesota State laws, the Minnesota Department of Corrections has to provide the general public information on the inmates housed in the prisons statewide, through its public website.

In addition to the Department of Corrections in Minnesota State, the Department of Public Safety and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension also maintains details on criminal convictions that are available to the general public for a period of 15 years from the date of conviction.  The information that can be accessed by the public includes details such as the type of offense, conviction date, the sentencing court, and the details of the sentencing.

The information that is not made accessible to the public through their website are details of the arrests, information pertaining to the juvenile records, federal information, details on inmates from other states in the country, conviction details over 15 years since the sentence was completed and also the information that is considered private or are rendered confidential by a court ruling or a state statute.

You can retrieve information about a particular a Minnesota prison inmate by contacting the Minnesota Department of Corrections at 1450 Energy Park Drive, Suite 200, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108. Phone (651) 361-7200 Or visit the website of the Minnesota Department of Corrections at http://www.doc.state.mn.us/. You can contact the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in Minnesota State at http://www.bca.state.mn.us/bca.asp.

Once you contact the Minnesota Department of Corrections or the Department of Public Safety or the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in Minnesota State, you will receive all the assistance that you need with regards to locating an inmate in Minnesota state prison or retrieve information from the inmate records of a particular offender if the details are not private and confidential. 

Offender Information Available with the Minnesota Department of Corrections

The information on inmates provided by the public website of the Minnesota Department of Corrections includes visiting rights of the inmates, inmate records and records search, information regarding their custody, and mailing information. 

Inmate Mailing System/Rights

All incoming mail is reviewed by the Correspondence Review Authority in each correctional facility in Minnesota State. The Correspondence Review Authority decides which incoming mail can be received by the inmates and which shall be denied. The offenders have the scope to request for a review of the denied mails.

According to the Correspondence Review Authority, the inmates can receive incoming mail that contain postcards, letters, greeting cards, drawings, photographs, legal correspondence, and periodicals and magazines from publishers. 

For more information on the mailing rights of the inmates in Minnesota State prisons you can visit http://www.doc.state.mn.us/offenders/mail.htm. For information on the visiting rights of the offenders/ inmates you can visit http://www.doc.state.mn.us/offenders/visiting.htm.

Inmate Classification Structure in Minnesota Correctional System

Minnesota correctional system follows a structure for classification that consists of five tiers. According to this classification Level 1 and Level 2 are considered as minimum custody levels while level 3 comprises medium custody, Level 4 is for closed custody and Level 5 implies maximum custody. Each inmate is assigned to a custody level within a period of 30 to 45 days from the date of admission into the correctional facility.

The inmates are evaluated on the basis of the crime committed by them, the length of their prison sentence and their risk factor. Based on these factors they are then assigned to an appropriate custody level.

Level 1 custody level is available in the correctional facilities at Lino Lakes, Stillwater and Faribault. Faribault also has Level 2 and Level 3 custody levels in their correctional facility.  Level 3 custody facility is also available at Moose Lake and Lino Lakes. Level 4 custody facilities are available at Rush City, Stillwater and at St. Cloud. Level 5 custody facility is available at Oak Heights. Apart from these, the correctional facility for women at Shakopee has all the custody levels.

For more information on the inmate classification structure in Minnesota Correctional System, visit http://www.doc.state.mn.us/facilities/custodylevel.htm.

Conducting an Inmate Search in Minnesota

There are several options available to you when you need to locate a Minnesota prison inmate such as offender search for level 3 predatory offenders, through the offender/ inmate locator search, from the list of active fugitives maintained by the Department of Corrections and also obtain information about conviction details from the Bureau of Criminal  Apprehension.

Offender search for Level 3 predatory offenders allows you to obtain information that is accessible to the general public. This information is posted by the local law enforcement units in the various counties of the Minnesota State and contains information about those offenders (Level 3 predators) who live within their jurisdiction.

The Inmate Locator can be used to locate and obtain information about offenders who are locked up in the prisons of Minnesota or about those offenders who are under the regulation of the Commissioner of Corrections even after they have been released from the prison.

For more information on conducting a search for Minnesota prison inmate, visit http://www.doc.state.mn.us/search/default.htm. In addition, if you have any information about the location of a fugitive in Minnesota State, you can call (651) 603-0026.