Northwest Arctic Borough Recent Bookings
Recent bookings in the Northwest Arctic Borough are handled primarily by Alaska State Troopers stationed in Kotzebue, since the borough has no municipal police department of its own. Village Public Safety Officers serve many of the borough's smaller communities and work alongside AST on a first-responder basis. This page explains how to search booking records, access court records filed at Kotzebue Superior Court, look up inmate status, and contact the right agency for records requests in this remote Northwest Alaska region.
Northwest Arctic Borough Overview
Northwest Arctic Recent Bookings Search
The Northwest Arctic Borough spans roughly 36,000 square miles of remote Arctic and sub-Arctic Alaska, centered on the Kobuk Valley and the shores of Kotzebue Sound. Communities include Kotzebue, Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kobuk, Kivalina, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, and Shungnak. The borough's law enforcement picture is different from most Alaska regions: there is no borough-level police department. Alaska State Troopers in Kotzebue are the primary law enforcement authority for the entire borough.
For online searches, Alaska CourtView is the best free public option. It indexes all Alaska trial court records from 1990 forward. Northwest Arctic Borough cases will appear under the Kotzebue Superior Court or Kotzebue District Court. No account is needed and searches are free at any hour. CourtView returns case details, charges, and disposition information.
The Alaska State Troopers Daily Dispatch posts nightly arrest summaries. For Northwest Arctic Borough incidents handled by AST, check entries under the Kotzebue Post in the Second District section. The dispatch log goes up each evening around 9 PM and covers the previous day's activity. It is a useful tool for spotting very recent arrests before they reach CourtView.
A screenshot of the Northwest Arctic Borough's official website shows the borough's main public information portal, which links to departments and community services.
The Northwest Arctic Borough website is the official portal for borough government information, including department contacts and public services for Kotzebue and surrounding communities.
For borough-level administrative contacts and department information, the borough's official site is the first place to check.
Village Public Safety Officers Program
The Northwest Arctic Borough operates a Village Public Safety Officer program through its Public Safety department. VPSOs are trained first responders who work in smaller communities where Alaska State Troopers are not stationed full time. They handle initial response, de-escalation, and emergency situations, then coordinate with AST for full law enforcement follow-up including arrests and investigations.
The VPSO program in the Northwest Arctic Borough is coordinated by the borough's public safety administration. The current VPSO coordinator is Darrell Hildebrand. VPSOs serve in villages across the borough and are a key part of the public safety network in communities that would otherwise have no local law enforcement presence at all.
The screenshot below shows the NWAB Public Safety page, which covers the VPSO program and how it works across the borough's communities.
The Northwest Arctic Borough Public Safety page has information on the VPSO program, borough public safety contacts, and the villages currently served by VPSOs.
For records from incidents where a VPSO was involved, the resulting records are typically held at the AST level rather than locally. Contact the Kotzebue AST Post to find out which agency holds a specific record.
Note: VPSO incidents result in arrest records held by Alaska State Troopers, not the VPSO program itself, so records requests should go to AST Kotzebue.
Alaska State Troopers Kotzebue Post
The Alaska State Troopers Kotzebue Post is the main law enforcement hub for the entire Northwest Arctic Borough. AST handles all arrests, investigations, and criminal records for the borough. This is the primary agency to contact for records requests involving incidents anywhere in the Northwest Arctic Borough, whether in Kotzebue itself or in a village served by VPSOs.
| Agency | AST Kotzebue Post |
|---|---|
| Mailing | PO Box 1050, Kotzebue, AK 99752 |
| Phone | (907) 442-3222 |
| Fax | (907) 442-3405 |
| Website | dps.alaska.gov/ast/contacts |
To request records, submit a written request citing AS 40.25.100 and include the subject's name, approximate date, and the type of incident. AST has a 10-business-day response window for records requests under Alaska's public records law. For active warrants, the AST active warrants database is searchable by name at no cost and updated daily statewide.
Kotzebue Superior and District Court
The Kotzebue Superior and District Court is the main court for the Northwest Arctic Borough, sitting within Alaska's Second Judicial District. Superior Court handles felony cases and more complex civil matters. District Court handles misdemeanors, small claims, and civil cases within lower jurisdictional limits. Both courts share the same Kotzebue address and operate on the same business hours.
| Court | Kotzebue Superior and District Court |
|---|---|
| Address | 154 Lagoon Street, PO Box 317, Kotzebue, AK 99752 |
| Phone | (907) 442-3208 |
| Hours | Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM |
| CourtView | records.courts.alaska.gov |
All records from the Kotzebue courts are available through CourtView. The portal is free and searchable by name or case number without any account. For certified copies, contact the court clerk directly. The Kotzebue District Attorney also has a presence in Kotzebue. Their contact page is available at law.alaska.gov DA Kotzebue.
The Alaska Court System's criminal charges filed report shows new statewide filings over a rolling seven-day period. Kotzebue court cases appear once formally filed, giving you a view of recent arrest activity that has moved into the court system.
Inmate Search and Custody Status
The Northwest Arctic Borough has no local jail or pretrial facility. People arrested in the borough are transported to a regional facility, typically in Kotzebue or transferred to a larger facility in Fairbanks depending on the nature of the case. Use Alaska VINE to search current inmate status by name.
VINE is free and available 24 hours a day. It covers all Alaska Department of Corrections facilities and shows current custody placement, basic charges, and lets you set up status change alerts. You can also reach VINE by phone at 1-800-247-9763. If a detainee has been moved from the initial holding location, VINE will reflect the updated facility.
For full criminal history background checks for Northwest Arctic Borough individuals, requests go to the Alaska DPS criminal records division. The background check office is at 5700 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99507, and can be reached at (907) 269-5767.
Sex Offender Registry and Public Records Law
The Alaska Sex Offender Registry is public and searchable by name, address, or ZIP code. Registered offenders living in Kotzebue and other Northwest Arctic Borough communities appear in this statewide database. Searches are free with no login required and the registry is updated as registrations change.
Public arrest records for the Northwest Arctic Borough fall under AS 40.25.100, Alaska's public records statute. Detailed criminal justice information is governed under AS 12.62, which limits access to authorized agencies for specific purposes. For most public uses, CourtView and the AST Daily Dispatch are the most accessible free tools.
Nearby Boroughs
Need booking records from neighboring Arctic and western Alaska regions? These areas have their own pages with local resources.