Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, has about 7,100 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are made by the Alaska State Troopers or the city police, with one city agency reporting to the FBI. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at a facility of the Alaska Department of Corrections, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Alaska Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Northwest Arctic Borough public records, Alaska arrest records, Alaska inmate search and Alaska criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Northwest Arctic Borough
Alaska has no county sheriff with a patrol role. Arrests in Northwest Arctic Borough are made by the Alaska State Troopers or the city police, and in Alaska the police for a given address is the city police inside a city with its own department and the Alaska State Troopers elsewhere.
One city in Northwest Arctic Borough reports its arrests to the FBI separately:
- Kotzebue, 2,889 residents: 137 arrests reported for 2025.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Arrests Kotzebue Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Kotzebue: 137 for 2025, 151 for 2024, 143 for 2023, 152 for 2022, 143 for 2021 and 186 for 2020.
Kotzebue's 137 arrests in 2025 were down 9.3 percent from 151 in 2024.
Through April 2026, Kotzebue reported 32 arrests, against 26 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Northwest Arctic Borough Are Held
Alaska has no borough jails. A person held after an arrest in Northwest Arctic Borough is in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections, which runs every jail and prison in the state, so one inmate lookup covers the whole state.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Northwest Arctic Borough
An arrest in Northwest Arctic Borough can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Alaska Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.alaska.gov/main/search-cases.htm); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at law.alaska.gov/department/criminal/DA-Utqiagvik.html, phone (907) 852-8130).
Statewide, CourtView is the Alaska Court System's free statewide case search.
Alaska is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: name-based conviction records are open to anyone who asks, through the Alaska Department of Public Safety. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Northwest Arctic Borough
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Alaska Public Records Act the agency must answer within 10 working days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying and search time.
- An arrest in Kotzebue: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (907) 852-8130, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Alaska Superior Court, through the court records page at courts.alaska.gov/main/search-cases.htm.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based or name-based request to the Department of Public Safety.
Cities in Northwest Arctic Borough: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the ten cities in Northwest Arctic Borough: Kotzebue. Selawik, Noorvik, Buckland, Kiana, Kivalina, Ambler, Shungnak, Kobuk and Deering have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Northwest Arctic Borough each year?
Kotzebue reported 137 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
Where are people arrested in Northwest Arctic Borough booked?
In a facility of the Alaska Department of Corrections, which runs every jail in Alaska.
Are arrest records public in Northwest Arctic Borough?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Alaska Department of Public Safety: name-based conviction records are open to anyone who asks. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Alaska Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Northwest Arctic Borough?
From the agency that made the arrest: in Alaska, the Alaska State Troopers or the city police. Under the Alaska Public Records Act the answer is due within 10 working days.
Is this the official Northwest Arctic Borough website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official borough, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.