Dane County Crime Numbers
The Wisconsin Department of Justice collates crime statistics for all the counties in the state. Its latest offense and arrest data for Dane County are for 2017. In that year, the county recorded 15 homicides, 164 rapes, 242 robberies, 886 aggravated assaults, and 2,054 simple assaults. Incidences of property crimes include 1,525 robberies, 8,716 larceny thefts, 686 motor vehicle thefts, and 19 arsons.
Compared to 2013 crime figures, homicide, rape, and aggravated assault rates rose by 87.5%, 47.7%, and 25% respectively. On the hand, the county recorded fewer cases of robbery (19.1%) and simple assault (5.5%) between 2013 and 2017. The five-year crime trend for Dane County also reveals falling burglary (26.6%), larceny theft (13.2%), and arson (66.1%) rates. The number of motor vehicle thefts, however, went up by 82% in the same period.
Dane County Criminal Records
The Wisconsin Department of Justice is responsible for providing criminal background checks for all counties in the state. To request for this service, visit the Wisconsin Online Record Check System (WORCS) and complete the web form on the page. Contact the Criminal History Unit of the Department of Justice about criminal record and background check questions by emailing CIBCriminalHistory@doj.state.wi.us and CIBRecordCheck@doj.state.wi.us respectively.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office provides incident reports, mug shots, photographs, video recordings, and citations for events that occurred in the county. Members of the public can either submit their requests using an online form or with a printable form. If you choose the second option, fax the completed form to (608) 284-6156 or mail it to:
Dane County Sheriff’s Office
Attention Records Section
115 W. Doty Street
Madison, WI 53703
Note that the Sheriff’s Office does not fax or email records to requesters. These are available for pick-up or sent by US mail. You can also bring the printed and completed form to:
Second Floor, Public Safety Building
Sheriff’s Office Main Lobby
115 W. Doty Street, Madison
The office opens to the public from Monday through Friday between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) is the custodian of traffic accident reports. To purchase crash reports for Dane County, visit the Search Crash page on the DOT’s website.
Wisconsin law empowers the Department of Corrections to register and maintain a registry of all convicted sex offenders in the state. Use its search tools to access the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry and find offenders living in Dane County. The Name Search feature allows visitors to search for offenders by their last names. Use the Geographical Search to find registered offenders living around specific zip codes and street addresses in Dane County.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office operates the three jails in the county. These include the City-County Building Jail located at 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Madison; the Public Safety Building Jail located at 115 West Doty Street, Madison; and the William H. Ferris Center located at 2120 Rimrock Road, Madison. These are maximum, medium, and minimum security prisons respectively.
The Sheriff’s Office publishes a regularly updated lists of all inmates in these facility. Check the Current Inmates List to find individuals incarcerated in these county jails.
Friends and family members can send money to inmates by US Mail or in-person. To fund an inmate’s account in person, come to the Bail & Release Window in the Public Safety Building Jail located at 115 West Doty Street. The Window accepts cash, cashier’s check, and money order deposits
Dane County Court Records
Dane County has one Circuit Court and 25 Municipal Courts. Each of the cities in the county has a Municipal Court while others are shared between various towns and villages in the county.
The Circuit Court is the higher trial court and hears criminal and civil cases. Its records are available online on the website of the Wisconsin Court System. Search for case indices using the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access portal. To view actual Dane County Court Records, visit the Record Center of the
Dane County Courthouse
Room 1000
215 S Hamilton Street
Madison, WI 53703
The office opens to the public from Monday through Friday between 7:45 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. You can also submit a request for copies of court records to this address in person or by mail. Fax and email requests are also acceptable. Send the fax request to (608) 267-8859 and an email request to Dane.courtrecords@wicourts.gov.
The County Clerk charges $1.25 per page for copies of court records and $5 per document for certified copies. Exemplification attracts an additional fee of $15. The Clerk charges $5 per name for searching for records for requests that do not include case numbers. Acceptable forms of payment include credit/debit cards and checks.
Members of the public can obtain records for Dane County Municipal Courts by visiting these courthouses or contacting them by mail. Below are the contact information for all the courts in the county:
Dane County Circuit Court
Dane County Courthouse
215 South Hamilton Street, Room 1000, Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 266-4311
Fax: (608) 267-8859
City of Fitchburg Municipal Court
5520 Lacy Road, Fitchburg, WI 53711
Phone: (608) 270-4224
Fax: (608) 270-4212
City of Madison Municipal Court
City - County Building
210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 264-9282
Fax: (608) 266-5930
City of Middleton Municipal Court
7341 Donna Drive, Middleton, WI 53562
Phone: (608) 824-7370
Fax: (608) 833-9995
City of Monona Municipal Court
1000 Nichols Road, Monona, WI 53716
Phone: (608) 216-7422
Fax: (608) 222-4196
City of Stoughton Municipal Court
Public Safety Building
321 South 4th Street, Second Floor, Stoughton, WI 53589
Phone: (608) 873-6676
Fax: (608) 646-0416
The City of Stoughton Municipal Court also serves the Towns of Dunkirk, Pleasant Springs, and Rutland.
City of Sun Prairie Municipal Court
2598 West Main Street, Sun Prairie, WI 53590
Phone: (608) 837-9541
Fax: (608) 825-1198
City of Verona Municipal Court
111 Lincoln Street, Verona, WI 53593
Phone: (608) 848-9938
Fax: (608) 845-8613
Eastern Dane County Joint Municipal Court
200 Spring Street, P.O. Box 99, Cambridge, WI 53523
Phone: (608) 501-5010
Fax: (608) 423-3916
Eastern Dane County Joint Municipal Court serves the Villages of Cambridge, Deerfield, and Rockdale.
Northeast Community Municipal Court
5365 Reiner Road, Burke, WI 53718
Phone: (608) 825-3119
Fax: (608) 825-8422
Northeast Community Municipal Court serves theTowns of Blooming Grove, Bristol, Burke, and Sun Prairie.
Town of Cottage Grove Municipal Court
221 East Cottage Grove Road, Cottage Grove, WI 53527
Phone: (608) 839-8064
Fax: (608) 839-4698
Town of Dunn Municipal Court
4156 County Road B, McFarland, WI 53558
Phone: (608) 838-1081 ext. 201
Fax: (608) 838-1085
Town of Madison - Middleton - Verona Joint Municipal Court
2120 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison, WI 53713
Phone: (608) 210-7263
Fax: (608) 210-7236
Village of Belleville Municipal Court
24 West Main Street, P.O. Box 79, Belleville, WI 53508
Phone: (608) 424-6551
Fax: (608) 424-6551
Village of Cottage Grove Municipal Court
221 East Cottage Grove Road, Cottage Grove, WI 53527
Phone: (608) 839-8064
Fax: (608) 839-4698
Village of Cross Plains Municipal Court
2417 Brewery Road, Cross Plains, WI 53528
Phone: (608) 798-4101
Fax: (608) 798-4001
Village of Dane Municipal Court
102 West Main Street, P.O. Box 168, Dane, WI 53529
Phone: (608) 849-5422
Fax: (608) 849-6412
Village of DeForest - Town of Windsor Municipal Court
120 South Stevenson Street, DeForest, WI 53532
Phone: (608) 846-6782
Fax: (608) 846-0945.
Village of Maple Bluff Municipal Court
18 Oxford Place, Madison, WI 53704
Phone: (608) 244-3069
Fax: (608) 244-0179
Village of Marshall Municipal Court
130 South Pardee Street, P.O. Box 45, Marshall, WI 53559
Phone: (608) 655-4017 ext. 202
Fax: (608) 655-4273
Village of Mazomanie - Black Earth Joint Municipal Court
133 Crescent Street, P.O. Box 26, Mazomanie, WI 53560
Phone: (608) 795-2100 ext. 5
Fax: (608) 795-2102
Village of McFarland Municipal Court
5915 Milwaukee Street, P.O. Box 110, McFarland, WI 53558
Phone: (608) 838-3764
Fax: (608) 838-3619
Village of Mount Horeb Municipal Court
138 East Main Street, Mount Horeb, WI 53572
Phone: (608) 437-7748
Fax: (608) 437-3190
Village of Oregon Municipal Court
383 Park Street, Oregon, WI 53575
Phone: (608) 835-2206
Fax: (608) 835-6262
Village of Shorewood Hills Municipal Court
810 Shorewood Boulevard, Madison, WI 53705
Phone: (608) 267-2690
Fax: (608) 267-1155
Village of Waunakee Municipal Court
500 West Main Street, Waunakee, WI 53597
Phone: (608) 849-4573
Fax: (608) 849-5628
Dane County Vital Records
The Dane County Register of Deeds is the official responsible for issuing vital records, including divorce records, for events that happened in the county. The Register can provide copies of divorce judgements recorded from January 1, 2016 to the present. For older records, contact the Wisconsin Vital Records Office at (608) 266-1371.
To request divorce records from the Office of the Dane County Register of Deeds in person or by mail, start by downloading and completing a Divorce Certificate Application. Bring this, along with a photo ID and payment, to:
Suite 110
210 Martin Luther King
Madison, WI 53703
The office opens for business between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. from Monday to Friday. When applying for divorce records by mail, send the completed application and payment to:
Register of Deeds
P.O. Box 1438
Madison, WI 53701-1438
The Register charges $20 for search fee and the first copy of divorce records obtained. There is a $3 fee for each additional copy of the same record requested. Money order, cashier’s check, and business check are accepted for in-person and mail requests. Requesters can also pay for in-person requests with cash and credit/debit cards (additional transaction fee of $2.5).
The Vital Records Section of the Register of Deeds Office also issues birth (from October 1, 1907), death (from September 1, 2013), and marriage (from June 21, 2015) certificates for Dane County. Requesters need to follow the same steps and pay the same fees as for requesting divorce records. Requests require completed Birth, Death, and Marriage Certificate Applications.
How to Lookup Dane County Property Records
The Office of the Dane County Register of Deeds is the official custodian of Dane County Property Records. To lookup these records, inquirers may query the Register of Deeds Office in person or via mail as well as the County Municipal Assessor’s Office, or use any of the online Property Search portals maintained by either office. A Dane County Property Search can also be conducted through the Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s Real Estate Transfer Return Database.
