Benzie County Busted Mugshots
Benzie County busted mugshots and arrest records are managed by the Benzie County Sheriff's Office at 505 Michigan Avenue in Beulah. This small northwest Michigan county along Lake Michigan does not have an online jail roster, but the sheriff's office at (231) 882-4484 can provide inmate info by phone. State databases including OTIS, ICHAT, and VINE give you more options for finding booking records and criminal history connected to Benzie County arrests, especially for people who have moved into the state system.
Benzie County Quick Facts
Benzie County Jail and Booking Records
The Benzie County Sheriff's Office at 505 Michigan Avenue, Beulah, MI 49617 operates the county jail. All arrests in the county result in a booking at this facility. The process includes taking a mugshot, recording personal details, and documenting charges. These booking records are public under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.231.
There is no online inmate search for Benzie County. Call (231) 882-4484 to check on a specific person. The jail staff can tell you if someone is being held and what the charges are. For formal copies of records, submit a FOIA request in writing to the sheriff's office. They have five business days to respond under MCL 15.235.
Search Benzie County Busted Mugshots Online
Without a local online roster, state databases are your main tool for looking up Benzie County busted mugshots from home. The OTIS database from the Michigan Department of Corrections tracks state prisoners, parolees, and people on probation. If someone convicted in Benzie County ended up in state prison, OTIS will have their mugshot, charges, location, and release date. The search is free and you get results instantly.
OTIS only covers state-level offenders. It does not show people in county jails. For conviction-specific history, ICHAT costs $10 per search and pulls data from every Michigan county. ICHAT covers felonies and misdemeanors over 93 days, reported under MCL 28.241.
Benzie County Busted Mugshots Online
The Benzie County official website shown below has contact info for the sheriff's office and other county departments.
Visit the Benzie County website for office hours, phone numbers, and directions to the sheriff's office in Beulah.
Busted Mugshots Alerts via VINE
VINE offers a free way to search for jail inmates and set up custody alerts. Type in a name and VINE shows whether the person is held at a participating Michigan facility. You can register for notifications that tell you when someone is released, transferred, or has a court date. VINE is especially useful for crime victims who need to track someone booked into the Benzie County jail.
Rural counties sometimes have slower reporting to VINE, so there may be a short delay in updates.
Benzie County Court Records
The 19th Judicial Circuit Court handles criminal cases in Benzie County. Court records show the full arc of a case, from filing through sentencing. Michigan Court Rule 8.119 makes these records presumptively open. The MiCOURT portal lets you search for case data from some Michigan courts online. If Benzie County records are not fully in the system, contact the circuit court clerk in Beulah for help.
Removing Benzie County Mugshots
Under MCL 445.1711, commercial websites that post mugshots cannot charge you a fee to remove your photo if you were not convicted. This applies to anyone whose Benzie County charges were dropped, dismissed, or ended in an acquittal. Send a removal request and the site must take it down.
Michigan's Clean Slate law, effective since April 2023, expanded who can get records expunged. Some offenses now qualify for automatic clearance. Others require a petition under MCL 780.621. Once a conviction is set aside, the arrest record and mugshot are sealed from public view. The Michigan Attorney General's office has free expungement resources.
Benzie County FOIA Process
For official copies of Benzie County busted mugshots, write a FOIA request to the sheriff's office. Include as much detail as possible about the records you want. Here is what helps speed up the process:
- Full name of the person whose records you need
- Approximate date of arrest
- Case number if you have it
- Whether you want digital or paper copies
Send it to the Benzie County Sheriff's Office at 505 Michigan Ave, Beulah, MI 49617. The MSP FOIA page has sample request forms and fee info.
Benzie County Sex Offender Lookup
The Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry lets you search for registered sex offenders in Benzie County. Maintained by state police under MCL 28.721, the registry shows names, photos, addresses, and offense details for all registered offenders.
Benzie County Background Checks
A criminal background check for someone tied to Benzie County can be done through ICHAT for $10. The Michigan State Police pull conviction data from all 83 counties. A fingerprint-based check is more thorough and costs $30 for processing plus the fingerprinting fee, which runs $50 to $70 depending on location. Fingerprint results take about eight weeks. For Benzie County arrests that have not yet gone through the court system, you will need to contact the sheriff's office at (231) 882-4484 or check VINE for custody status.
If you need to correct an error on a Michigan criminal history record, you can submit a written challenge to the Michigan State Police. Get fingerprinted on an RI-8 card, mark "Record Challenge" on the back, and send it to MSP at no charge. They will review and correct any errors in the state database.
Nearby Counties
Search for busted mugshots in counties near Benzie: