MN CRIME Newsworthiness Score

Every criminal complaint tracked by MN CRIME receives a newsworthiness score between 0 and 200. The score is calculated automatically using a formula that weighs multiple factors: the severity and number of charges, whether the defendant is a repeat offender with prior cases in our database, the presence of aggravating factors (violence, weapons, victims who are minors or vulnerable adults), the defendant's public role (elected official, law enforcement, teacher), and county-level context.

Cases scoring 100 or above are flagged as "Breaking" — they represent the day's most significant filings. Cases scoring 50–99 are tagged as high-profile, meaning they are notable but not necessarily urgent. The majority of complaints fall below 50 and represent routine filings that may still be valuable for research but are unlikely to be newsworthy.

The score is a tool, not a verdict. A high score means the case has characteristics that correlate with newsworthiness — it does not mean the defendant is guilty or that the charges are accurate. MN CRIME is a court records service; all cases reflect charges, not convictions.

The newsworthiness score is what powers the "Today in Minnesota" briefing on the homepage, the breaking case alerts in Scout (mncrime.com/scout), and the priority sorting in DocDash (mncrime.com/dashboard). High-signal cases rise to the top so you never miss the day's most significant criminal filings. You can learn more about how MN CRIME flags notable cases at mncrime.com/learn/high-profile-case.