Northwest Arctic Borough Criminal Records

Northwest Arctic Borough criminal records are handled through the Second Judicial District Superior Court in Kotzebue, with the Alaska State Troopers Kotzebue Post serving as the primary law enforcement agency across this remote northwestern Alaska region. Court records can be searched at no cost through CourtView, and document copies are available through form TF-311. For police reports and Trooper records, the DPS JustFOIA portal is the most practical option given the remote nature of the borough. This page covers each source for Northwest Arctic Borough criminal records and how to access them, whether you need a court filing, a police report, or an inmate status check.

Northwest Arctic Superior Court

The Northwest Arctic Superior Court in Kotzebue handles all criminal cases filed in Northwest Arctic Borough. The mailing address is P.O. Box 1110, Kotzebue, AK 99752, and the phone is (907) 442-3208. The court is part of the Second Judicial District. The Superior Court handles felony cases and major criminal matters, while District Court operations for misdemeanors and lower-level cases run from the same location. Both courts use the same records request process, and all Northwest Arctic Borough criminal case records are held at this Kotzebue location.

Northwest Arctic Borough covers a large area of northwestern Alaska centered on Kotzebue Sound and the Kobuk River valley. Communities in the borough include Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kobuk, Koyuk, Noorvik, Noatak, Selawik, Shungnak, and others. Because many of these communities are accessible only by small plane and are spread over a wide area, the court operates on a circuit basis. Magistrates travel to villages on set schedules to handle cases that cannot wait for parties to reach Kotzebue. Records from those circuit court proceedings are filed at the Kotzebue courthouse. For any community in Northwest Arctic Borough, the Kotzebue court at P.O. Box 1110 is the right place to send records requests.

Search Northwest Arctic Criminal Records

CourtView is the free starting point for Northwest Arctic Borough criminal records. The system is at records.courts.alaska.gov/eaccess. You can search by party name, case number, or citation number with no login required. CourtView returns charge details, case status, hearing dates, and dispositions for cases filed since 1990. This includes cases handled at the Kotzebue courthouse and those heard during magistrate circuit visits to villages across the borough.

CourtView Public Access provides free case lookup for Northwest Arctic Borough criminal records through the Second Judicial District.

CourtView covers all Northwest Arctic Borough court filings from 1990 to present, including circuit court proceedings held in remote borough communities.

For copies of actual court documents, use form TF-311. Get it at courts.alaska.gov/forms. Fill it out with the case number if you have one, then submit by mail, fax, or in person at the Kotzebue courthouse. Include a case number to avoid research fees. Current copy fees are listed at courts.alaska.gov/shc/courtfees.htm. Regular copies are $5.00 for the first document and $3.00 for each additional one. Certified copies cost $10.00 for the first document. A $30.00 per hour research fee applies when no case number is given. Because Kotzebue has no road connection to the state highway system, mail remains the primary submission method for most people outside the borough.

Alaska State Troopers - Kotzebue Post

The Alaska State Troopers Kotzebue Post serves communities across Northwest Arctic Borough outside Kotzebue itself. The post is at P.O. Box 1050, Kotzebue, AK 99752, and the phone is (907) 442-3222. Most villages in the borough have no local police force, so Troopers are the responding agency for incidents in places like Ambler, Buckland, Noorvik, and Selawik. Village Public Safety Officers in some communities assist with local situations, but full investigation and arrest records flow through the Trooper system. If a criminal incident happened outside Kotzebue city limits, the Troopers most likely hold the relevant police records.

The most efficient way to request Trooper records for Northwest Arctic Borough incidents is through the DPS JustFOIA portal at dpsalaska.justfoia.com/publicportal. This online system lets you submit a records request, track its progress, and download completed records without traveling to Kotzebue or another DPS office. Initial responses are required within 10 business days under the Alaska Public Records Act at AS 40.25.100. For a borough this remote, the JustFOIA portal is the best practical option for state law enforcement records.

The DPS JustFOIA portal handles Trooper records requests for Northwest Arctic Borough incidents, covering the Kotzebue Post's entire service area.

JustFOIA processes requests statewide, including those directed to the Kotzebue Post covering Northwest Arctic Borough's remote communities.

Court Directory and Judicial District Info

The Kotzebue court is part of the Second Judicial District along with the courts in Barrow (Utqiagvik) and Nome. These are three separate courthouses serving distinct geographic areas. Records from a Northwest Arctic Borough case stay at the Kotzebue courthouse. They do not transfer to the Nome or Barrow courts unless a case is specifically moved by court order. If you are uncertain which court handled a case, CourtView's name-based search will show the court location for any case found in the system.

The Alaska Court System's full directory is at courts.alaska.gov/courtdir. This lists current phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses, and hours for the Kotzebue court and every other Alaska trial court. The directory is the most reliable source for confirming current contact details before submitting any formal records request.

The Alaska Court Directory provides up-to-date contact information for the Kotzebue courthouse and all Second Judicial District court locations.

The directory includes the fax number and hours for the Kotzebue court, which are important for submitting records requests from outside the borough.

Active Warrants and Inmate Lookup

Active warrants for Northwest Arctic Borough cases can be checked through the Alaska State Troopers database at dps.alaska.gov/ast/warrants. The database is updated daily and shows names, offense categories, and bond amounts for warrants that are currently active statewide. No formal records request is needed to access this database.

To check whether someone arrested in Northwest Arctic Borough is currently in custody, use VINELink Alaska. This statewide system lets you search by name and see current custody status across Alaska correctional facilities. You can also register at no cost to receive notifications if custody status changes. Someone arrested in Kotzebue or a borough village may be held locally or transferred to a facility in Anchorage or Fairbanks. VINELink tracks their current location regardless of where they were initially booked.

Criminal history records in Alaska are governed by AS 12.62.160, which sets access rules for criminal justice information held by the Department of Public Safety. Sex offender registration requirements apply statewide under AS 12.63, covering all communities in Northwest Arctic Borough. For a broader overview of how the Kotzebue court fits into Alaska's judicial structure, the Alaska Trial Courts page explains jurisdiction, case types, and how to contact each location.

Note: All requests involving physical mail to the Northwest Arctic Borough court should allow extra time for delivery. Kotzebue has no road connection to the state highway system, and weather can affect air service during winter months.

Communities in Northwest Arctic Borough

Kotzebue is the borough seat and the main hub for Northwest Arctic Borough. All criminal cases within the borough are filed through the Second Judicial District court at P.O. Box 1110 in Kotzebue.

Northwest Arctic Borough does not include any cities that meet the threshold for a dedicated city page. The borough's communities include Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kobuk, Kotzebue, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, and Shungnak. Criminal case records for all of these communities are held at the Kotzebue courthouse. Records requests for any Northwest Arctic Borough community should be directed to the Kotzebue court mailing address.

Nearby Boroughs and Census Areas

These jurisdictions are near Northwest Arctic Borough. The location where an incident occurred determines which court holds the case records.