New Madrid County Police Records
New Madrid County police records are maintained by the New Madrid County Sheriff's Office in New Madrid, Missouri. These records document arrest and incident activity across the county and are subject to public access under Missouri's Sunshine Law. Most completed police records from New Madrid County are open to the public. This page explains how to request records from the sheriff's office, which online systems support the search, and what the state law requires agencies to release.
New Madrid County Quick Facts
New Madrid County Sheriff's Office
The New Madrid County Sheriff's Office is at 1 Court House Square in New Madrid, MO 63869. Sheriff Marty L. Plunk oversees the department. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Call (573) 748-2516 to reach the records office. The mailing address for correspondence and written records requests is 2 Court House Square, New Madrid, MO 63869.
New Madrid County is in Missouri's Bootheel region in the far southeast corner of the state. The sheriff's office serves as the main law enforcement agency for the county and is responsible for records from all sheriff-handled calls for service, arrests, and jail operations. Arrest reports, incident reports, booking logs, inmate information, and warrant records are all kept at the sheriff's office. These records are open to the public once any related investigation is closed.
New Madrid County is in the 34th Judicial Circuit of Missouri. Criminal cases from county arrests move through the 34th Circuit courts. Court records from those cases are accessible through Missouri Case.net. You can use Case.net to track criminal matters from the initial charge through final disposition.
How to Request New Madrid County Police Records
Submit a written request to the New Madrid County Sheriff's Office. You do not need a specific form under Missouri law. Write a description of the record you want and include the name of the person involved, the type of record, and the date or approximate date of the incident. Bring or mail your request to 2 Court House Square, New Madrid, MO 63869, or call (573) 748-2516 to ask about submission options first.
Missouri's Sunshine Law requires the office to respond within three business days under Chapter 610 RSMo. The response must fulfill the request, deny it with a specific legal justification, or notify you that additional time is needed with an explanation. Copy fees are limited to $0.10 per page for standard documents. Research fees may apply for time-intensive requests, but you should get an estimate before the work starts.
The Missouri Attorney General's Sunshine Law page has sample request language and a complaint form for use if a public agency refuses to comply. The AG's office is authorized to investigate Sunshine Law violations and can pursue enforcement if needed.
New Madrid County Sheriff data flows into the Missouri Uniform Crime Reporting program, maintained by the MSHP Statistical Analysis Center. UCR data reflects aggregate crime statistics from the county and is available publicly. It shows crime trends but does not contain individual records.
Missouri Sunshine Law and New Madrid County Records
The Missouri Sunshine Law at Chapter 610 RSMo governs access to all public records in the state. Section 610.100 specifically addresses law enforcement records: arrest and incident reports are public once a case is no longer active. This means most police reports from the New Madrid County Sheriff are open to anyone who requests them in writing.
Exemptions apply in limited situations. Active criminal investigations are closed until resolved. Records that could harm victims, witnesses, or undercover officers are withheld. Some mobile video recordings are exempt. Juvenile records are handled separately under state law and are not generally part of the public record. In all cases where access is denied, the New Madrid County Sheriff must cite the specific statute that supports the denial.
If you have questions about whether a specific record is open or closed, call the sheriff's office at (573) 748-2516. You can also consult the full text of the Sunshine Law at revisor.mo.gov or read the AG's Sunshine Law guide for plain-language explanations of each exemption.
Online Criminal Record Systems for New Madrid County
Missouri's statewide online tools make it easier to find criminal and police records tied to New Madrid County without visiting the courthouse in person. Missouri Case.net covers the 34th Judicial Circuit, which handles New Madrid County cases. You can search by party name or case number to find criminal charges, court dates, and case dispositions. Case.net is free and updated in real time by the Missouri courts.
For background checks, the Missouri Automated Criminal History System at machs.mo.gov offers name-based and fingerprint-based searches. A name-based search costs $15 and returns open criminal records including convictions, recent arrests, and pending charges statewide. A fingerprint search costs $20 plus vendor fees and gives access to a more complete history. Both are run through the MSHP CJIS Division, which holds criminal history data from all Missouri counties.
The Missouri Sex Offender Registry at mshp.dps.missouri.gov is free to search. You can look up registered offenders in New Madrid and across the county by name or by address. The Missouri DOC offender database at doc.mo.gov helps locate individuals who moved from New Madrid County custody to state prison.
New Madrid County Jail and Booking Records
The New Madrid County Sheriff's Office operates the county jail and keeps records of everyone booked into custody. Booking logs are public records. You can request a current or historical booking log by calling (573) 748-2516 or submitting a written request. If you need to know whether a specific person is currently in the New Madrid County jail, call the office directly. Inmate information is generally available upon request.
Once a person leaves county custody and enters the Missouri state prison system, their information moves to the Missouri Department of Corrections database. You can search that database for free at doc.mo.gov by name or DOC ID number. It shows current location, sentence details, and release information for state-supervised individuals, including those from New Madrid County whose cases ended with a state prison sentence.
Note: New Madrid County also borders Pemiscot and Mississippi counties. If you are unsure which county handled a specific incident in the Bootheel region, check Case.net or call the relevant sheriff's office to confirm jurisdiction.
Nearby Counties
These counties border New Madrid County in southeastern Missouri. Each maintains police records independently under Missouri's Sunshine Law.