Crime Numbers
The Michigan State Police Department (MSP), through it's Michigan Incident Crime Reporting (MICR) program, collates crime statistics for all counties in the state. The latest crime data fo Muskegon County are for 2018. In that year, Muskegon County recorded 696 violent crimes and 5,713 property crimes. Compared to 2014, these figures represent a 1.9% increase in the violent crime rate and a 5.9% decline in property crime rate. A breakdown of the 2018 crime figures for the county shows that there were 13 murders, 149 rapes, 92 robberies, 442 aggravated assaults, 778 burglaries, 4,561 larcenies, and 374 motor vehicle thefts.
The latest five-year crime trend for the county indicates that murder (18.2%), rape (43.1%), aggravated assault (6.3%), and motor vehicle theft (41.7%) rates went up between 2014 and 2018. On the other hand, robbery (39.1%), burglary (33%), and larceny (1.8%) rates fell in the same period.
Criminal Records
The Criminal Justice Information Center of the MSP provides two types of criminal history records for all counties in Michigan. These include name-based background checks available to everyone and fingerprint-based background checks provided when ordered by court orders.
To request a name-based background check for Muskegon County, visit the State Police website to use the Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT). This type of background check costs $10 payable by credit/debit card. When a fingerprint-based criminal history is required, visit an approved Live Scan Vendor with a Live Scan request form.
Muskegon County is served by 11 law enforcement agencies. Each of them provides police reports for offenses and accidents that occurred within its jurisdiction. To obtain a copy of any of these reports in the county, contact the police department in the city, borough, or town where the event occurred or was reported. For example, reports for the City of Muskegon (the county seat) is provided by the Muskegon Police Department while reports for surrounding townships and villagesare provided by the Muskegon County Sheriff. The Sheriff’s Office charges $10 per police report and makes accident reports available online.
Muskegon County Jail is the main correctional facility for the county. The 542-bed facility managed by the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office is located at:
Muskegon County Jail
980 Terrace Street
Muskegon, MI 49440
(231) 724-6351
Family and friends can make deposits into an inmate's account or order the inmate commissaries online at eXpress Account or by calling (866) 422-6833.
The Michigan State Police maintains and provides public access to a central database of sex offenders living in the state. To find a sex offender living in a neighborhood in Muskegon County visit the MSP Public Sex Offender Registry. Citizens can search for sex offenders by name, city, zip code, and street address.
Court Records
The primary court of trial in Muskegon is the Circuit Court. Other courts in the county include the District Court and the Probate Court. The Circuit Court is part of Michigan’s 14th Judicial Circuit while the county’s District Court is part of the state’s 60th Judicial District. All courts in the county hold sessions at the Michael E. Kobza Hall of Justice located at:
990 Terrace Street
Muskegon, MI 49442
(231) 724-6221(Circuit Court)
(231) 724-6294 (District Court
(231) 724-6241 (Probate Court)
The Muskegon County Clerk of the Circuit Court maintains all the county's court records. The Clerk provides separate online access for the public to search cases from the Circuit Court, the District Court, and the Probate/Juvenile Court.
To obtain certified copies of these court records, visit the Record Division of the Clerk's office on the 6th Floor of the Michael E. Kobza Hall of Justice (address above). Criminal records from 2013 to the present, Civil records from 2014 to the present, and Family Court records from 2009 to the present are available on-site at the office. Older records are kept off-site and require two days to be delivered to the office when requested. Call (231) 724-6251 to pre-order off-site records. Record request costs $10 and an optional fee of $25 to expedite a request. The Clerk provides copies at $1 per page and certifies each document for $10. The Record Division also accepts requests mailed to the courthouse address. Include a money order for the fees and a self-addressed stamped envelope in the mail-in request.
Vital Records
Muskegon County divorce records from 1897 to the present are provided by the Vital Records Office of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The Office charges $34 per request for divorce records and there is the option to expedite for an additional $12. Regular requests take up to 5 weeks to complete while expedited requests are processed within 2 weeks. Download and complete the Divorce Certified Copies application form when requesting a copy of a divorce record from the office. Include a check or money order for the required fee and send along with the completed form to:
Vital Records Requests
P.O. Box 30721
Lansing MI 48909
Address an expedited request as follows:
Vital Records Rush
P.O. Box 30721
Lansing MI 48909
The office also accepts in-person requests at its location in:
South Grand Building
333 S Grand Avenue
1st Floor
Lansing MI 48933
(517) 335-8666
The office is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Pay for record fees by cash, card or money order when requesting divorce records in person.
The Vital Records Office also provides Muskegon County's birth, death, and marriage records for events that occurred in the county. To request for any of these records, complete the relevant marriage, birth, or death certified copies application form, and submit it following the same steps described above for divorce records.
The Muskegon County Clerk’s Office also provides copies of birth, death, and marriage records. Use the online Muskegon County Clerk's Death, Marriage and Business Registration Index to search for available marriage and death records. This online index only has marriage records from October 1987 to the present and death records from April 1987 to the present. To search older records or request for certified copies of vital records, visit the County Clerk's office located on the first floor of the Michael E Kobza Hall of Justice.
Alternatively, complete the relevant section of the request for certified copy form and mail or submit in person to the Clerk's office. Include a money order for copy fee and a photocopy of a valid ID with the mail request. The Clerk charges $55 per request for these vital records.
