Pennington County Jail Mugshots
Pennington County jail mugshots and inmate booking records are managed by the Pennington County Sheriff's Office in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The county jail holds people awaiting trial and those serving short sentences in a 92-bed facility that serves as a regional hub for northwestern Minnesota. This guide explains how to find current inmates, how to request booking photos, and what state law says about access to Pennington County jail records.
Pennington County Overview
Pennington County Sheriff's Office and Jail
The Pennington County Sheriff's Office runs the county detention facility at 102 W First Street in Thief River Falls. The jail has 92 beds spread across seven housing units and is licensed by the State of Minnesota. It is a PREA-compliant facility with a zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse. Jail Administrator Dave Casanova oversees day-to-day operations. Assistant Administrator Jo Williams can be reached at 218-416-7098 for administrative matters.
The main jail line is 218-416-7097. If you need to leave a message for an inmate, the voicemail line is 218-416-1120. The facility uses a GUARDIAN RFID tracking system, which monitors inmate movement throughout the building. That system also creates a log of where each person has been and when, which can be relevant when processing certain records requests.
| Address | 102 W First Street, PO Box 484, Thief River Falls, MN 56701 |
|---|---|
| Jail Phone | 218-416-7097 |
| Inmate Voicemail | 218-416-1120 |
| Jail Administrator | Dave Casanova, 218-416-7095 |
| Asst. Administrator | Jo Williams, 218-416-7098 |
| Capacity | 92 beds, 7 housing units |
You can find general information about jail services on the Pennington Sheriff jail services page. More detailed jail policies and rules are on the dedicated jail page at the sheriff's website. The main department site at penningtonsheriff.org covers all Sheriff's Office functions.
The Pennington County jail also houses inmates from several neighboring counties. Marshall, Beltrami, Clearwater, and Kittson counties have used this facility under contract. That means people from outside Pennington County may appear in the local custody records. Check the statewide VINE system if you are unsure which facility holds a specific person.
Search Pennington County Jail Mugshots Online
Pennington County does not maintain its own standalone inmate roster on the Sheriff's website. The primary search tool for finding someone held at the Pennington County Jail is the VINElink inmate locator. VINE stands for Victim Information and Notification Everyday. It is a statewide system that tracks custody status in real time across all participating Minnesota jails.
To search on VINE, go to the VINElink website and select Minnesota as the state. You can search by offender name or by offender ID number. Results show name, current location, charges, and booking status. The system updates automatically as custody changes occur, which means it reflects current status more accurately than a static PDF roster would. Families, attorneys, and the public all use VINE to check on someone held in Pennington County.
The state screenshot below shows how the Minnesota DOC offender search interface looks. While that system focuses on state prison inmates rather than county jail detainees, both databases are useful when someone may have been transferred from the county jail to a state facility.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections Offender Locator is the best tool if you think a person has moved from the county jail into state custody. Enter a first and last name to search. You can also add a date of birth to narrow results when the name is common.
The Minnesota DOC offender locator tool is shown here, accessed through the Department of Corrections public site at coms.doc.state.mn.us.
This search tool covers sentenced offenders statewide and can help confirm a transfer from Pennington County Jail to a state correctional facility.
Note: VINE is the most reliable real-time source for Pennington County custody status. The Sheriff's Office phone line at 218-416-7097 is a good backup if the online system does not show results.
How to Request Pennington County Booking Photos
Booking photos from the Pennington County Jail are public data under Minnesota law. You can request them by contacting the Sheriff's Office directly. The most direct route is to call 218-416-7097 during regular business hours and ask for the records unit. In-person requests are also accepted at the jail facility at 102 W First Street in Thief River Falls.
Under Minnesota Statute 13.82, arrest data is classified as public. This covers the name, date and time of arrest, charges, and booking photographs in most cases. The county must respond to your data request in a reasonable time. For written requests, the state generally requires a response within 10 business days under Minnesota Statute 13.03. Copy fees may apply.
The Minnesota Department of Administration's Information Policy Division can answer questions about your rights under the Government Data Practices Act if you run into trouble getting records from the Sheriff's Office.
Note: Inmate communication at Pennington County Jail goes through inmatecanteen.com, which also handles video visitation for the facility.
Minnesota Laws Covering Jail Mugshots
Minnesota law creates a clear framework for public access to jail records. The Government Data Practices Act defines what is public and what is private. For arrest and booking records, the key statute is Minnesota Statute 13.82, which lists the specific data elements that become public when someone is arrested. That list includes the person's name, the time and place of arrest, the charges, and generally the booking photograph.
County jails like the one in Pennington County operate under Minnesota Statute 641.05. That law requires the sheriff to maintain a jail register documenting every person committed to custody. This register is a public record. Minnesota Statute 641.08 further defines what the public may access from county jail records and sets standards for how the sheriff manages that data.
Correctional data on sentenced offenders is governed by Minnesota Statute 13.85. That section has slightly different rules for privacy than the arrest data section. Once a person moves from county jail to a state facility, the rules may shift slightly. Pennington County Sheriff's Office follows all these statutes when handling public requests for jail mugshots and booking records.
If you need court case information alongside a mugshot, the Minnesota Trial Court Public Access site lets you search case filings by name or case number. For criminal history checks, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension handles background searches at chs.state.mn.us.
The VINE notification system interface is shown below, available at vinelink.com, where you can search for current Pennington County inmates by name.
VINE sends automated alerts by phone, text, or email when a person's custody status changes, which is useful for anyone tracking a specific inmate at the Pennington County Jail.
Nearby Counties
Search jail mugshot records in counties near Pennington County.