Great Lakes Wire

FOIA Request to Leelanau County Sheriff's Office regarding 2023 arrest records on September 24, 2025.

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted to the Leelanau County Sheriff's Office by Great Lakes Wire, a media organization dedicated to providing thorough and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs. The request, sent on September 24, 2025, seeks access to all arrest records from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. The requested data points include arrestee name, sex, race, age, date of birth (DOB), citizenship status, booking ID, date of arrest, booking photo, names of arresting officers, type of crime committed, location of the crime, and date of the crime.

The requester emphasized the importance of these records for fulfilling their professional responsibilities as a member of the media. Access to public records is crucial for holding public institutions accountable and ensuring transparency. Additionally, the requester has sought a fee waiver based on their role in disseminating information to the public.

Great Lakes Wire is affiliated with The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy—a non-profit organization that assists media companies and advocacy groups in investigating governmental agencies through FOIA and Sunshine Laws. More information about this coalition can be found at https://stopsecrecy.org/about/.

Our team will continue to keep you updated as we gather and report news related to this request and other matters of public interest. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification regarding this matter.