Polk County Arrest Records

When an individual commits a crime in Polk County, law enforcement agencies are empowered by law to apprehend them so they may be dealt with according to the law. Chapter 968 of Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations covers arrests within Polk County. The arresting agency that apprehended and processed the suspect typically generates the arrest records.

After an arrest, the suspect is usually remanded to the Polk County Jail operated by the county sheriff. After the suspect's information is gathered during booking and processing, they are arraigned before a judge. At the arraignment, the judge examines the case and determines if the suspect is granted bail or remains locked up until their court date.

Arrest records may be available from local law enforcement, such as the sheriff’s office or municipal police departments. Interest parties may also find Polk County arrest records as part of criminal history information maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Justice or Polk County Court Records in the custody of the judiciary.

Are Arrest Records Public in Polk County?

Under Wisconsin Public Record laws, arrest records are classified as public information. Unless specifically mentioned by the law, government agencies must provide the public access to public records. Certain information may be restricted to protect an individual’s privacy and ensure fairness in legal proceedings. Examples of information restricted under public record laws include the following.

• Any records exempt under state or federal laws
• Certain law enforcement records
• Records that would identify confidential informants for law enforcement
• Information that contains an individual’s account details with a financial institution, including credit card numbers, debit card numbers, checking account numbers, or draft account numbers, unless specifically required by law
• Information that may have been sealed or expunged by a court order

If a record contains restricted information, the record may still be accessed but with all restricted parts deleted.

Polk County Arrest Statistics

Polk County law enforcement, such as the sheriff’s office, contributes crime data for the county to the FBI national database. This data is available for viewing online via the FBI Crime Data Explorer. According to the data submitted, the Polk County Sheriff reported about 524 arrests in 2023. The total included 113 arrests for drugs/narcotics offenses, 70 arrests for driving under the influence, 64 arrests for disorderly conduct, 61 arrests for simple assaults, 24 arrests for larceny, 19 arrests for vandalism, 12 arrests for weapons violations, 10 arrests for aggravated assault, five arrests for burglary, and three arrests each for fraud and motor vehicle theft.

Find Polk County Arrest Records

Arrest records and inmate information for Polk County may be obtained locally from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and County Jail. Interested parties may request records or make inquiries using the following contact details.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Polk County Justice Center
1005 West Main St,
Suite 900
Balsam Lake, WI 54810
Records(phone): (715) 485-8350
Jail(phone): (715) 485-8370
Records(fax): (715) 500-6516
Jail(fax): (715) 485-8375

The Polk County jail also provides inmates information via the online Inmate Roster detailing all inmates currently in custody. Inmate information is also available using the resources provided by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, such as the online Offender Locator.

Polk County Arrest Records Vs. Criminal Records

Polk County arrest and criminal records are legal documents that detail the relationship between a person and law enforcement. These records are similar but differ in a few areas, including what they consist of and which agencies generate them. Arrest records deal with only arrests within the jurisdiction. They consist of details from the incident, including the date, time, and location of the arrest, personal information, arresting agencies, and crimes committed.

On the other hand, criminal records consist of records from various agencies, including law enforcement, courts, and correctional facilities. They consist of arrest records, court records, and sentencing information.

How Long Do Arrests Stay on Your Record?

In Wisconsin, several agencies serve as repositories for criminal records, including arrest records. Agencies such as the Criminal History Information Bureau (CIB) maintain arrest records forever unless the subject of the record takes steps to remove them. The following conditions must be met before an arrest record qualifies to be expunged in Wisconsin.

• All charges associated with the arrest were dismissed or not charged at all.
• The applicant was found not guilty
• The charges were dismissed by the court or the prosecuting attorney
• The prosecuting attorney did not file any charges after the arrest

If the applicant qualifies, they may fill out and submit the Fingerprint Record Removal Request (DJ-LE-250B) to the CIB to remove arrest information from their record.

Some arrests that led to convictions can also be expunged in Wisconsin. Nonviolent crimes that led to six years or less and misdemeanor convictions that did not lead to jail time or probation also qualify for expungement.

The Consolidated Court Automation Program (CCAP) is an automated system that serves as an online repository for arrest and other criminal records. The amount of time a record stays in the database usually depends on the type of crime.

• Misdemeanors typically remain in the database for 20 years
• Class B to I felonies remain in the database for 50 years
• Class A felonies remain in the database for 75 years
• Family cases remain in the database for about 30 years

Polk County Arrest Warrants

An arrest warrant is a legal document that authorizes law enforcement to arrest a person and bring them before the court. For a warrant to be issued in Wisconsin, a complaint must be filed with the judge in the court of the county where the crime was committed. A complaint can be made in writing or via an affidavit. Complaints can also be made verbally under oath before the judge or district attorney, electronically, or over the phone with the judge or district attorney.

After the complaint has been made, it is issued and approved for filing by the district attorney for the county where the crime was committed. This approval must be in the form of a written endorsement by the DA on the complaint. The complaint may now be filed with the judge, and either the warrant will be issued or the complaint dismissed. When a DA does not issue the complaint, a circuit court judge may permit the filing of the complaint. The judge may conduct a hearing to establish probable cause that the subject of the warrant committed a crime and issue the warrant if satisfied.

Arrest warrants issued in Wisconsin must be in writing and contain the following.

• The name of the crime committed, the section charged, and the number of the statute that was allegedly violated by the crime
• An attached copy of the original complaint
• The name of the subject of the warrant or a reasonable description by which the suspect can be identified with reasonable certainty
• The date it was issued
• The name of the judge who issued it, the title of their office, and their signature
• It must order that the subject of the warrant be arrested and brought before the judge who issued the warrant or some other judge within the county.

Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations Chapter 968 explains the processes surrounding arrests and arrest warrants.

Do Polk County Arrest Warrants Expire?

Arrest warrants issued by the authorities in Polk County do not expire. They are only removed when the suspect is apprehended, surrenders, or dies. Under certain conditions, a judge in the issuing court may recall or cancel an arrest warrant when it was issued incorrectly or illegally.