Conduct a Free Delaware Inmate Search (Jail & Prison Lookup)

Run a free Delaware inmate search today to find details of an incarcerated loved one, acquaintance, or even a stranger. Inmates are individuals imprisoned or confined within correctional facilities such as prisons or jails; they’ve been found guilty of a crime and are serving court-ordered sentences for a spectrum of offenses from misdemeanors to felonies.

With this helpful resource, information on any inmate in Delaware can be quickly located with little effort; use the search tools and guidance below to start your search now.

The Difference Between Being Incarcerated in Jail vs Prison

In the public arena, the terms “jail” and “prison” are often used interchangeably, but nuanced distinctions exist between them regarding the types of individuals housed there, the purpose a facility serves and the duration of confinement.

When embarking on an inmate search in Delaware, recognizing these differences is important, especially when reaching out to the officials overseeing each facility.

Jails are temporary holding facilities for individuals awaiting trial, serving short sentences or pending a transfer to prison. Sentences typically span from a few days to 1 year, with inmates held until trial or the posting of bail.

Prisons, on the other hand, are long-term correctional facilities for inmates serving sentences beyond 1 year. These inmates have been convicted of felonies following a trial and require a facility equipped to handle extended stays.

In the state of Delaware, the correctional system includes probation and parole detention centers, prisons and community correction centers. Here are some more specifics on these facilities:

• County jails: In Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown, county jails hold inmates who have received a sentence of less than 1 year and are awaiting trial or assignment for fulfilling their sentence. The Delaware State Police and the county sheriff’s offices oversee these facilities.
• State prisons: Delaware operates four prisons in Wilmington, New Castle, Georgetown and Smyrna. They hold inmates serving a sentence of more than 1 year. The Department of Corrections (DOC) oversees operations in each of these.¹
• Juvenile detention centers: These are tailored for minors facing accusations of delinquent acts and are overseen by the state Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services.²
• Community correctional centers: These provide services to help inmates and offenders smoothly transition back into everyday society following incarceration or time spent on restriction. These centers typically offer education and job training programs, treatment for substance abuse and counseling aimed at helping inmates reintegrate into their former communities.
• Federal prisons: The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice, supervises these facilities. Delaware doesn’t currently operate any federal prisons.

Delaware’s state prisons are subdivided into areas of low or minimum security for nonviolent offenders, medium security for less severe offenses and maximum or high security for dangerous inmates and the most violent offenders.

These designations dictate the physical parameters of the facility, the staff-to-inmate ratios and the freedoms afforded to the inmates. Three of the four prisons house male inmates, with the fourth designated solely for incarcerated women.

The operational landscape depends on the jurisdiction. Administrators, wardens and superintendents spearhead daily operations at each facility, while inspection agencies and ombudsman programs provide external oversight to ensure adherence to laws and regulations designed to protect inmates. Most inmates are held in local jails, with state prisoners being the next most common type. Federal inmates are comparatively rare.

How To Perform a Delaware Inmate Search To Locate Individuals in Jails

As the second-smallest state in terms of square miles and ranked 45th for population in the nation, Delaware operates a unified and integrated state-level prison and jail corrections system. There are only five other states that utilize this type of system. All correctional facilities and institutions fall under the jurisdiction of the state.

State police troop locations hold inmates awaiting transportation to one of the state’s prisons or correctional facilities.³ They aren’t equipped for accommodations lasting more than 24-48 hours. Some offenders are detained at the county courthouse and are in the custody of the Capitol Police, which can be reached at 302-255-0043.

Sentencing for nonviolent criminal offenses typically involves time on probation, home confinement, assignment to a halfway house or other special conditions.⁴ For example, to find inmates in New Castle County, contact the sheriff’s office to obtain copies of court records.⁵

Contact information is as follows:

New Castle County
800 North French Street, 5th Floor
Wilmington, DE 19801

Phone: 302-395-8450
sheriff@newcastlede.gov

After an offender is arrested, they’re taken to a state correctional facility. The state doesn’t have an inmate search tool. Interested parties can use the VINElink tool to search for inmates in state facilities.

The Delaware criminal and arrest records article provides additional information about public court records and lists the contact information for all the police departments in each of the three counties and the names of each correctional facility. Searchers can also access Delaware public records as part of a search.

When seeking information on inmates and other sensitive details, make sure to adhere to the ethical use of public records. These resources can be useful when performing an inmate search in Delaware.

How To Look Up Delaware State Prisoners

Delaware’s 11 correctional facilities consist of four state prisons and seven community correctional centers.¹ While it’s the only state without its own inmate search tool, interested parties can make use of the VINELink tool for Delaware to search for an inmate in its prisons.

Use the drop-down links provided through this tool to select specific parameters of a state inmate search. These include first name, last name, location in Delaware and offender status.

Running a search generates a display of court records that align with the entered information. Users can choose to input a partial name if that’s all that’s known, and the option also exists to display any existing photo that might accompany the record. To access details such as birth date and ID number, a free account is required.

The system provides the first five digits of the case number, the status of the case, an option to be notified of case changes and record details, including court events.

The Delaware Department of Corrections manages the four state prisons or correctional institutions.⁶ Its office is headquartered in the Central Administration Building in Dover.

The Bureau of Prisons is the agency within the DOC that oversees all four adult correctional facilities within the state. These are Sussex Correctional Institution, James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, and Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution.

You can individually contact each state prison, as well as any of the community correctional centers. You can also utilize the resources listed below pertaining to inmates and victims to reach someone who’s been incarcerated and to learn what to do if you’re the victim of a crime.

• Bureau of Community Corrections for parole and probation services in Delaware⁷
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request form
• Delaware Board of Parole
• Sending money to an inmate
• Mailing letters to inmates
• Visiting an inmate
• Victim services and resources
• Correctional Facility Locations & Profiles
• Walkaways and Escapees

How To See Who Is in Federal Prison

When seeking information about inmates in federal facilities, utilize the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) lookup tool.⁸ This tool allows state inmate searches based on the individual’s name or ID number and displays the details of all federal prisons from 1982 to the present. Inmates held across the Bureau’s 130 nationwide facilities are included.

For records of prisoners incarcerated prior to 1982, utilize Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) and the Records of the Bureau of Prisons provided by the National Archives & Records Administration (NARA).⁹

The state of Delaware doesn’t operate any federal prisons within its boundaries. If you’d like any information about other federal prisons, you can view a map of BOP locations by state or a list of BOP facilities from the Bureau of Prisons.

Given the dynamic nature of inmate search procedures and resources, it’s important to stay current with the latest developments. With the right tools, you can remain informed throughout this entire process. Explore and make use of this platform for all your Delaware inmate searches.