ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has released the 2024 No-Knock Search Warrant Report. Minnesota Statute 626.14, Subdivision 4 requires local law enforcement agencies to report information about no-knock warrants to DPS and for the department to compile the data into an annual report.

	2024	2023	2022	2021 *
Warrants requested	19	89	185	132
Warrants issued	18	84	179	129
Warrants denied	1	5	6	3
Warrants executed	16	71	158	105
Warrants where the sought evidence was located	10	69	148	87

* The 2021 report contains data from Sept. 1 (the date the statute requiring reporting went into effect) through Dec. 31. 

 

No-knock search warrants

State statute requires all law enforcement agencies that apply for a no-knock search warrant to report the following data within three months of the warrant application:

• The number of no-knock search warrants requested.
• The number of no-knock search warrants the court issued.
• The number of no-knock search warrants executed.
• The number of injuries and fatalities suffered, if any, by peace officers and civilians in execution of no-knock search warrants.
• Any other information the DPS commissioner requests.

Some no-knock warrants are for activities that do not require entering a residence such as searching the property (versus the residence) or attaching a tracking device to a vehicle. 

The BCA does not hold data on whether cases related to warrants are open or closed, whether warrants are sealed, or whether the officers executing the warrants were undercover. Information contained in the No-Knock Warrant Annual Report is provided with as much specificity as possible while assuming the possibility that at least one of these conditions exist.

The complete 2024 No-Knock Search Warrant Annual Report can be viewed on the BCA website at http://dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/data-and-reports/no-knock-annual-reports. 

 

About the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) provides investigative and specialized law enforcement services to prevent and solve crimes in partnership with law enforcement, public safety and criminal justice agencies. Services include criminal justice training, forensic laboratory analysis, criminal histories and investigations.

About the Minnesota Department of Public Safety

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s 2,100 employees operate programs in the areas of law enforcement, crime victim assistance, traffic safety, alcohol and gambling, emergency communications, fire safety, pipeline safety, driver licensing, vehicle registration and emergency management. DPS activity is anchored by three core principles: education, enforcement and prevention.