Search Cass County Recent Bookings

Cass County recent bookings are managed by the Sheriff's Office in Cassopolis. This southwest Michigan county runs a jail that holds up to 136 inmates at one time. Finding out who has been booked into the Cass County jail takes a phone call since there is no online search tool. The sheriff's office staff can share custody status, charges, and bond details over the phone during business hours. For written records and copies, you will need to submit a FOIA request. This page walks through every option for looking up recent bookings in Cass County.

Cass County Sheriff's Office and Jail

The Cass County Sheriff's Office sits on M-62 in Cassopolis. The jail there has a rated capacity of 136 beds. The average daily population across the county runs around 180 inmates, which means the facility often holds more people than its design intended. This is not uncommon in Michigan, where the Jail Overcrowding Emergency Powers Act gives sheriffs tools to manage capacity issues.

All bookings in Cass County go through this one jail. When someone is arrested by local police, state troopers, or the sheriff's deputies, they end up here for processing. The booking creates a record that includes the person's name, charges, arrest date, and bond amount. These records are public under Michigan law.

Cass County does not post an inmate roster online. You have to call to find out if someone is in custody. The main sheriff's line is 269-445-2481. The jail direct line is 269-445-8644. Give them a full name and date of birth. They will tell you what they can.

How to Look Up Cass County Bookings

The quickest way to check on Cass County recent bookings is to call the jail. Pick up the phone and dial 269-445-2481 or 269-445-8644. Staff can confirm if a person is being held, what the charges are, and how much bond was set at. You need the person's full legal name. A date of birth helps. This costs nothing.

For a broader search that goes past the county level, try the Michigan ICHAT system. It costs $10 per search and shows felony convictions and serious misdemeanors from across the state. It will not show current jail bookings, though. It only covers cases that ended in conviction. For state prison inmates, the MDOC OTIS tool is free and shows who is in a state facility right now.

VINELink lets you track an inmate across Michigan jails. You sign up for alerts tied to a specific person. When their status changes, you get a call, text, or email. This works for Cass County inmates too. Visit vinelink.com to set up notifications.

Cass County FOIA and Booking Records

Under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act (MCL 15.231), you have the right to request booking records from the Cass County Sheriff's Office. This includes jail intake logs, arrest reports, and related documents. The process is straightforward.

Write a letter or send an email to the Cass County Sheriff's Office at 321 N. M-62, Cassopolis, MI 49031. State clearly what records you want. Include names, dates, and as much detail as you can. The county must respond within five business days. If the request is large, they can take up to ten extra days. Fees for copies in Michigan run from $0.07 to $0.25 per page depending on the county. Labor for search time is billed in 15-minute blocks at a rate set by the agency.

Some records are exempt. MCL 15.243 allows agencies to withhold medical data, mental health info, and anything that would compromise jail security. Ongoing investigations can also be shielded. But basic booking information, including names, charges, dates, and mugshots, is public. The Michigan Supreme Court confirmed in Patterson v. Allegan County Sheriff that booking photos are public records.

Michigan State Resources for Cass County

Several state-level tools can help when searching for people connected to Cass County. These are run by the Michigan State Police and the Department of Corrections. They do not replace a direct call to the Cass County jail, but they add context.

The Statewide Records Management System is a law enforcement tool that connects agencies across Michigan. While the public cannot search it directly, it plays a role in how booking data moves between agencies. The Michigan State Police oversee this system from their office in Lansing. You can learn more about it at the MSP SRMS page.

The CLEMIS Inmate Locator at apps.clemis.org covers Oakland County and some surrounding areas. It does not include Cass County, but it is worth knowing about if your search extends to southeast Michigan. For sex offender records, the Michigan Sex Offender Registry lets you search by name, city, county, or zip code for free.

Booking Record Laws in Cass County

Michigan law treats jail booking records as public. MCL 15.231 says all persons are entitled to full and complete information about government operations. Booking someone into a county jail is a government action. The record of that booking is a public record.

There are carve-outs. The exemptions in MCL 15.243 protect certain sensitive data. If a record release would interfere with an active investigation, it can be withheld. If it would endanger someone's safety, same thing. Medical screening data from the booking process is private. But the core facts of who was booked, when, and on what charges are almost always available in Cass County.

Michigan's Clean Slate legislation allows automatic expungement of some older convictions starting April 2023. This affects records in ICHAT and similar databases. It does not erase current bookings or recent arrest records from the Cass County jail. Under MCL 28.241, criminal records access rules still apply to all agencies. Court records are separately governed by MCL 600.880.

Cities in Cass County

Cass County includes the communities of Cassopolis, Dowagiac, Edwardsburg, and Marcellus. All arrests in these areas are processed through the Cass County jail. None of the cities in Cass County currently have their own pages on this site.

Nearby Counties

These counties are near Cass County. Bookings can happen in any of them depending on where an arrest takes place. Each county keeps its own jail records.