Search LaPorte County Recent Arrests

LaPorte County recent arrests are processed at the LaPorte County Jail at 809 State St in La Porte, Indiana, and are managed through the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office. With a population of over 112,000 across a county that stretches from the Lake Michigan shoreline south through farmland, LaPorte County sees arrests from the sheriff's department, Michigan City Police, La Porte Police, and other local agencies, all of which can be searched through the county and statewide Indiana public records tools.

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LaPorte County Sheriff Jail and Booking Process

The LaPorte County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail at 809 State St, La Porte, IN 46350. The main phone for the sheriff's office is 219-326-7700. The LaPorte County website at laportecounty.org provides links to law enforcement resources and county services. The sheriff's office books people arrested throughout the county into the La Porte jail, which is the primary detention facility for the area.

When someone is booked at the LaPorte County Jail, a record is created with their name, date of birth, booking date and time, charges, bond status, and other identifying information. Under IC 5-14-3-5, this basic arrest information is public. The law requires disclosure of the person's name, age, and address, the charges, the date and time of arrest, the location of the arrest, the arresting officer's name, and the responsible agency.

IC 36-2-13-5 additionally requires the sheriff to take fingerprints, photographs, and identifying data from every person taken into custody. These records are shared with state and federal law enforcement databases and remain part of the permanent booking record for the individual. Booking photos are generally treated as public records in Indiana.

The county jail processes bookings from multiple agencies. The LaPorte County Sheriff handles arrests in unincorporated parts of the county and rural areas. The Michigan City Police Department, La Porte Police Department, Westville Police, and other municipal departments send their arrestees to the county jail for booking and detention.

Note: The LaPorte County Jail is the primary detention facility for the county. Some individuals may be held temporarily at a local police station before transfer to the main jail.

LaPorte County Court Records

Court records for LaPorte County are searchable through Indiana's statewide MyCase portal at public.courts.in.gov/mycase/. This covers the LaPorte Circuit Court and LaPorte Superior Court. You can search by defendant name or case number for free without creating an account. MyCase shows case status, charges, hearing dates, assigned judge, and case history.

The screenshot below shows the Indiana MyCase court records portal, which includes LaPorte County criminal and civil cases and allows anyone to track a case from first filing through final disposition.

Once the LaPorte County Prosecutor decides to charge someone following an arrest, the case is filed and appears in MyCase. From there, you can track all scheduled hearings, continuances, plea entries, and the final judgment. This is the main tool for following a LaPorte County criminal case after the initial arrest and booking stage.

Physical records and certified copies are available from the LaPorte County Circuit Clerk. The clerk's office is in the LaPorte County Courthouse in La Porte. Indiana's access to public records law under IC 5-14-3-3 allows public inspection of court records without a stated reason in most cases. IC 5-14-3-4 sets out what may be kept confidential, such as ongoing investigative records and personal identifiers.

Note: MyCase may not show all older LaPorte County cases, particularly those filed before the system went fully online, and the clerk's office may need to be contacted for pre-digital records.

GettingOut and Inmate Communications

The LaPorte County Jail uses GettingOut for inmate phone calls and messaging services. Friends and family can set up accounts and communicate with incarcerated individuals in the LaPorte County Jail through the GettingOut platform at gettingout.com. The platform also allows funds to be added to an inmate's account for phone calls and canteen.

The screenshot below shows the GettingOut inmate communications platform, used by the LaPorte County Jail to manage phone calls and messaging for inmates and their families.

GettingOut lets users call, video call, or send messages to inmates. You set up an account with your own verified information and connect to the specific facility. Call rates and messaging fees apply through the platform. This is the approved method for most inmate communications at the LaPorte County Jail outside of in-person visitation.

Note: GettingOut account setup requires identity verification, and not all inmates may be approved for all communication types depending on their custody status.

Michigan City Police and LaPorte County Law Enforcement

Michigan City is the largest city in LaPorte County and has its own police department. The Michigan City Police Department is at 1201 Springland Ave, Michigan City, IN 46360. Non-emergency: 219-873-1426. Michigan City sits on the Lake Michigan shoreline in northern LaPorte County and handles a significant share of the county's total arrest volume. All Michigan City arrests are booked into the LaPorte County Jail.

La Porte, the county seat, also has a city police department that covers arrests within city limits. Other municipalities in LaPorte County, including Westville, Wanatah, Kingsford Heights, and others, have their own police departments or contract with the sheriff for coverage. The Indiana State Police also operate in LaPorte County and book arrestees into the county jail system.

For people looking for arrest records from Michigan City specifically, the LaPorte County Jail roster is the source since all Michigan City arrests end up booked there. The Michigan City Police may have their own incident reporting system, but the actual booking records come through the county jail.

Note: Michigan City has its own dedicated arrest records page at this site. See the qualifying cities section below for the link.

Statewide Records Covering LaPorte County

The Indiana State Police Limited Criminal History search at in.gov/ai/appfiles/isp-lch2/index.html provides statewide criminal history that includes LaPorte County cases. The INjail portal at public.indianajail.gov/ aggregates inmate data from participating Indiana county jails and is worth checking if you need to search across multiple counties at once.

VINE victim notification covers LaPorte County Jail inmates. Register at vinelink.com or call 1-866-959-8463 to receive automatic alerts when an inmate's custody status changes. The Indiana Department of Correction offender locator at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov/ covers individuals transferred to state prison from the LaPorte County system.

Expungement of eligible LaPorte County arrest records is available under IC 35-38-8. Qualifying situations include arrests with no charges filed, dismissed cases, acquittals, and some misdemeanors after a waiting period. A petition must be filed with the LaPorte Circuit or Superior Court. Accident reports from LaPorte County crashes are available through BuyCrash at buycrash.com for $12 per report.

Note: Statewide search tools may have a short delay before new LaPorte County arrest records appear, as data must be submitted and processed by the state system.

Qualifying City in LaPorte County

One city in LaPorte County meets the population threshold for its own arrest records page. Michigan City is the county's largest city and has a dedicated page covering Michigan City-specific arrest records, police resources, and inmate search tools. Other communities in LaPorte County are served by the county resources described on this page.

Nearby Counties

LaPorte County shares borders with several Indiana counties.