How to Check Criminal History in Key West
Begin a Key West criminal record search with the custodian that made the record. The Key West Police Department keeps incident and arrest reports. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office creates custody data when a KWPD arrest reaches booking. The Monroe County Clerk opens a docket if prosecutors file a case. A name in one system may not yet appear in another, so use the date, report number, booking number, or case number to tie the same event together.
- Identify whether KWPD made the report and note the event date, place, and report number.
- Ask KWPD Records for the existing report, not the form used to report a new event.
- Search the Monroe Clerk criminal portal and watch for K or AK location codes.
- Check MCSO Current Arrests or inmate search for county booking and custody data.
- Use FDLE CCH for public statewide history, or Personal Review for your own fingerprint record.
Key West Police Records Section
KWPD Records sits within the Administrative Bureau at 1604 N. Roosevelt Boulevard. The main number is 305-809-1111, and records email is kwpdrecords@cityofkeywest-fl.gov. Give a tight date range, location, incident type, and case number when known. Active investigative facts, protected victim data, juvenile material, and confidential identifiers may be withheld or redacted.
The official City of Key West source shows the city setting for this local records system.
City channels help route a request, but police and court custodians remain distinct.
The Key West Police Department
Key West has its own police department. KWPD creates calls for service, offense reports, arrest reports, and evidence records. It does not maintain the county jail roster or criminal court docket. Those later Key West records belong to MCSO and the Monroe Clerk. This split matters when the goal is a full record rather than one police narrative.
For property or evidence, call 305-809-1002 for an appointment, generally from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Bring the case number, photo ID, and proof of ownership. A proxy needs notarized authorization and ID. This is a retrieval route, not a broad Key West criminal history search, and unclaimed property follows Florida section 705.103.
Key West Police Form Trap
The fillable police report form starts a new report. It does not request an old one. The form asks for contact and identity details, incident facts, property descriptions, value, serial number, signature, and notary fields. It may be sent by mail, fax to 305-809-1047, or KWPD records email.
For an existing Key West police record, describe the prior event instead. Florida requests may be oral, written, emailed, or made in person, and no reason is required. A written note can still document scope. The City Clerk at 1300 White Street handles city administrative records, not a KWPD incident report merely because both offices serve Key West.
Arrests and Bookings in Key West
KWPD arrestees enter MCSO Corrections rather than a city jail database. The main Monroe County Detention Center is at 5501 College Road on Stock Island. MCSO creates the booking ID, intake time, custody facility, charge allegations, bond or hold, and release data. That booking can appear before prosecutors file a Key West case.
Use MCSO Current Arrests and inmate search for custody, then request the city report from KWPD. A booking allegation is not proof of guilt. Filed charges may change, be declined, or be dismissed. The Monroe County arrest history page covers county booking channels in more depth.
Key West Stock Island Trail
A missing city-jail result is normal because Key West has no separate public city inmate list. Follow the KWPD report number into MCSO booking, then into the clerk docket after filing. The police report records the event, booking records custody, and the docket shows prosecution and outcome.
The official MCSO mobile app listing documents the sheriff's mobile channel.
The app can help reach sheriff information, but it cannot turn an arrest allegation into a court disposition.
Key West Municipal Court Records
No separate Key West municipal court portal was found. City criminal, ordinance, and criminal traffic matters route through Monroe County Court or Circuit Court. Search the free anonymous Monroe Clerk portal and watch for K or AK at the end of the case number. The Key West counter is at 500 Whitehead Street, with public hours from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
| Court Name | Monroe County Court or Circuit Court, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit |
|---|---|
| Case Types Heard | Municipal ordinance, criminal traffic, misdemeanor, and felony |
| Case Lookup Channel | Monroe Clerk anonymous criminal search or Key West counter |
| What the Docket Shows | Charges, events, hearings, status, disposition, bonds, and available images |
| Copies & Fees | $2 per year searched, $1 per page, and $2 per certified document |
Key West K and AK Codes
K and AK identify the Key West court division. M and AM identify Marathon, while P and AP identify Plantation Key. The full format uses a two-digit year, two-letter case type, six-digit sequence without leading zeroes, and location suffix. This code helps separate a Key West criminal record from a same-name result elsewhere in the Keys.
The portal generally offers docket data from about 1990 and document images for most case types from 2007. A blank search does not prove no record exists. For an older file or certified copy, call criminal records at 305-295-3950 or email criminalrecord@monroe-clerk.com. Juvenile, sealed, expunged, and confidential records do not appear in anonymous results.
Where Key West Records End Up
KWPD creates the first city record. MCSO creates the booking after intake. The State Attorney decides what charges to file, and the Monroe Clerk records court events. Fingerprints and later outcomes should reach FDLE's Computerized Criminal History system, though lag or an unmatched identifier can leave gaps.
Record flow: Key West PD › Monroe County Courts › Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Use KWPD for the incident narrative, MCSO for custody, and the clerk for the local case outcome. FDLE is broader across Florida, but a name match is not fingerprint identification. Someone reviewing their own Key West criminal history can use FDLE's free fingerprint Personal Review and challenge route under section 943.056.
Key West Police History
Municipal policing in Key West reaches back to incorporation in 1828, when an appointed marshal served 421 residents and the first jail was a converted ship's brig. By 1900, the police force had 13 officers. KWPD now calls itself the southernmost police department in the continental United States. This long local line is why Key West has city-created police records while other Monroe cities use contracted sheriff service.
The city's adjusted 2025 population estimate was 26,526, while KWPD has described a visitor load near two million per year. Those figures explain why call volume and resident population differ. The legacy 2020 table counted 556 index offenses for KWPD, but it is dated agency data, not a current risk score and not a record about any person.
Key West Custodian Choice
The City Clerk and KWPD Records do not hold the same material. Send council minutes, city contracts, and other municipal administration files to the City Clerk at 1300 White Street, 305-809-3831 or 305-809-3832. Send an incident, offense, arrest, or police evidence request to KWPD. Sending a Key West police request to the general city custodian can slow routing even when the request is valid.
Court files take a third route. The Monroe Clerk, not KWPD or the City Clerk, keeps filed charges, motions, hearing dates, pleas, dispositions, sentences, bonds, and financial assessments. The county's own public-record routing page makes the same distinction between police reports and court records. Pick the source by the record's creator, then use a shared number to connect the pieces.
Key West Record Terms
Several Florida docket terms can change how a Key West criminal history reads. A disposition is the outcome of a charge. Nolle prosequi means the prosecutor chose not to proceed. Adjudication withheld means the court withheld a formal adjudication after a plea or finding; it is not the same as dismissal. A capias is a court command to take a person into custody.
- Booking
- The MCSO custody intake, not a finding of guilt.
- Docket
- The clerk's dated list of court events and filings.
- Disposition
- The final result for a count or case.
- Expunction
- Statutory removal or destruction subject to limited exceptions.
Correcting Key West Criminal History
When the record belongs to you and appears incomplete, first compare the Key West police event, MCSO booking, and Monroe Clerk disposition. A missing outcome may reflect reporting lag or an identifier that did not match. Keep copies of the docket and any certified disposition before asking the repository to review the state entry.
FDLE offers a free fingerprint-based Personal Review under section 943.056. Fingerprints must be taken by a law-enforcement or criminal-justice agency and mailed with the FDLE form. That route confirms identity more reliably than a name search and provides a challenge process. It differs from the paid public CCH product, which is a name-based repository search.
Public Access Rules for Key West Records
Key West police records fall under Florida constitutional and statutory access rules, while court files also follow judicial confidentiality rules. The city must provide existing nonexempt records, but need not create a new report or answer research questions. Ordinary city charges may reach 15 cents for a one-sided page and $1 for certification, plus reasonable extensive-use cost. An agency should identify the legal basis for a denial or redaction.
Key Statutes:
Florida Public Records Law requires access to existing nonexempt records.
Florida Statutes section 943.053 governs state criminal-history dissemination.
Florida Statutes section 943.056 provides personal review and challenge rights.