Bloomington Booking Reports

Bloomington booking reports are kept by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and can be searched by the public. The city has a population of about 80,049 people and sits in south central Indiana. When the Bloomington Police Department or other local law enforcement makes an arrest, the person goes to the Monroe County jail for booking. The sheriff's office holds all booking data for the county. You can look up these records by name or date. This page covers how to search for Bloomington booking reports, who to call, and what the law says about your right to get them.

Monroe County Handles Bloomington Bookings

Bloomington is the county seat of Monroe County. All booking reports for the city go through the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Ruben Marte leads the department. The main office is at 301 N. College, Bloomington, IN 47404. You can call the sheriff at 812.349.2780 for questions about booking records or jail info.

When the Bloomington Police Department arrests someone, that person is taken to the Monroe County jail. The booking process creates a record with the person's name, charges, arrest date, bond amount, and the name of the arresting officer. Monroe County keeps these Bloomington booking reports on file and makes them available to the public under state law. The jail processes bookings around the clock, so new records are added at all hours. If you need older records that are not in the current system, you can call the sheriff's office or send a written request to their College Avenue address.

For more about booking reports across Monroe County, see the Monroe County booking reports page.

Bloomington Police Department Arrests

The Bloomington Police Department is the main law enforcement agency in the city. BPD handles most of the arrests that lead to Bloomington booking reports. You can reach BPD at (812) 339-4477. The department does not run its own jail or keep its own booking database. All booking data goes to the Monroe County Sheriff's system.

After a BPD officer makes an arrest, the person is brought to the Monroe County jail for processing. The jail staff creates the booking report during intake. This record lists the charges, personal details, and bond info. Indiana University also has its own police department that operates in Bloomington. IU police arrests go through the same Monroe County booking process. Both agencies feed into the same county system, so one search covers all Bloomington booking reports.

Note: Indiana University Police Department arrests also result in booking reports filed at the Monroe County jail.

Search Bloomington Booking Reports Online

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office provides public access to booking data through its website at monroecosheriff.com. You can search for current inmates and recent bookings. The search tool lets you look up people by name. Results show charges, booking dates, and bond amounts for people held in the Monroe County jail.

The screenshot below shows the Bloomington Police Department contact page used for booking report questions in Monroe County.

This page provides the phone number and address for BPD, which is often the first point of contact for people looking for recent Bloomington arrest and booking data.

You can also search Monroe County court records through the Indiana MyCase portal. MyCase shows case filings, charges, and court dates tied to Bloomington bookings. It does not show the booking report itself, but it gives you the court side of an arrest. Both tools are free to use and open to anyone.

Public Access to Bloomington Booking Records

Indiana law makes booking reports public records. IC 5-14-3-5 says that when a person is booked into a jail, the agency must share certain facts with anyone who asks. The list includes the person's name, age, address, charges, time of arrest, and the arresting officer's name. It also includes the reason for holding the person and the bond amount if one has been set.

IC 5-14-3-3 gives every person the right to inspect and copy public records during normal business hours. You do not need to give a reason. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office cannot deny your request for Bloomington booking reports just because you will not explain why you want them. If you submit a formal written request under the Access to Public Records Act, the agency has seven days to respond per IC 5-14-3-9. Most requests get handled faster than that, but the law sets that as the outer limit.

Cost of Bloomington Booking Report Copies

Viewing booking reports online is free. No fee applies to the search. If you want paper copies, IC 5-14-3-8 sets the cap at $0.10 per page for standard black and white copies. Color copies can cost up to $0.25 per page. Certified copies may have an added fee of up to $5.00 per document. You can send copy requests to the Monroe County Sheriff at 301 N. College, Bloomington, IN 47404.

For statewide criminal history checks that go beyond Bloomington, the Indiana State Police runs a Limited Criminal History search. The cost is $15.00 per search. You can run it at the ISP online portal. This check covers felonies and Class A misdemeanors from across Indiana and returns results as a PDF.

Note: The $15.00 ISP criminal history check covers the entire state, not just Monroe County.

State Tools for Bloomington Record Searches

Several state tools can help you find records tied to Bloomington booking reports. The IDOC offender locator shows people who are serving time in state prison. If someone booked in Bloomington was later sentenced to state custody, you can track them through this tool. It is free and updated often.

The MyCase court search covers all Indiana courts including Monroe County. You can search by name or case number to find filings, hearing dates, and case outcomes. The VINELink notification system lets you sign up for alerts when an inmate's custody status changes. This is useful if you want to know when someone booked in Bloomington gets released from the Monroe County jail. All three tools are free to the public.

Sealing Bloomington Booking Records

IC 35-38-8 lets some people get their Bloomington booking records expunged. The wait time depends on the case outcome. Arrests that did not lead to a conviction have a one year wait. Misdemeanors require five years. Felonies need eight years. Once a court grants the expungement, the booking report is sealed and taken out of most public search tools.

You can reach the Indiana State Police Expungement Section at Expungement@isp.IN.gov or call (317) 234-4427. They can walk you through what you need to file. The process starts with a petition in the county where the arrest took place. For Bloomington, that means filing in Monroe County court.