Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime 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 on September 24, 2026.
McKenzie County, North Dakota, has about 15,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A police report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, so which office holds a report from McKenzie County depends on where the incident happened: the McKenzie County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county, the agency that reports for the city inside a city. This guide names each agency, where its records page is and what the North Dakota Open Records Law requires of it.
This guide covers which agency, the sheriff's reports, the cities' reports, how many reports, what the law requires and common questions.
Related guides: McKenzie County public records, McKenzie County arrest records, McKenzie County warrants, McKenzie County inmate search, North Dakota arrest records and North Dakota inmate search.
Which Agency Holds a Report from McKenzie County
The report of an incident is released by the agency that took it; the court and the jail hold their own records of the same event, but not the report.
In McKenzie County that is the McKenzie County Sheriff's Office for the unincorporated county and for any city that contracts with it for police service, and the agency that reports for a city where the city has one of its own.
Reports from the McKenzie County Sheriff's Office
The McKenzie County Sheriff's Office is the county agency; it had 9 violent and 59 property crimes reported for 2025 and reported 347 arrests for 2025.
Its reports come from its records unit, reached through the office at 701.444.3654. The office's page SearchSystems verified is its jail page, at mckenziesheriff.net/Resources/Correctional-Facility (page title: Correctional Facility), phone 701.444.3654, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Reports from the City Agencies in McKenzie County
The one city the FBI lists in McKenzie County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Watford City: 24 violent and 121 property crimes reported for 2025; 317 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 Reports: McKenzie County in 2025
The two agencies in McKenzie County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 33 violent and 180 property crimes to the FBI that year, each one a report taken by the agency that holds it.
Together, the two agencies in McKenzie County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 664 arrests to the FBI that year, and each arrest is a report of its own.
What the North Dakota Open Records Law Requires
Under the North Dakota Open Records Law the agency must answer a request within a reasonable time, and it may charge copying, and staff time after the first hour. The request goes to the agency that holds the report, in writing, and does not have to say why the report is wanted.
A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney, (701) 444-3733, handles discovery for pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a police report in McKenzie County?
From the agency whose officer took it: the McKenzie County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the North Dakota Open Records Law the answer is due within a reasonable time.
How long does an agency in McKenzie County have to answer?
Under the North Dakota Open Records Law, within a reasonable time. It may charge copying, and staff time after the first hour.
How do I get a report from the McKenzie County Sheriff's Office?
From its records unit, reached through the office at 701.444.3654. Under the North Dakota Open Records Law the answer is due within a reasonable time.
Is this the official McKenzie County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.