Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones the agency reported to the FBI, through 2025. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Wilmington, Delaware, in New Castle County, has about 73,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and its arrests are reported to the FBI by an agency of its own. An arrest in the city leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at a facility of the Delaware Department of Correction, and, if the Attorney General files charges, a case in the Delaware Superior Court, New Castle County. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts the agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Wilmington public records, New Castle County arrest records, Delaware arrest records and Delaware inmate search.
Who Makes Arrests in Wilmington
The FBI lists Wilmington with an arrest reporting agency of its own, filed as Wilmington Police Department. It reported 2,259 arrests for 2025. A city is listed separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
Outside the city, the New Castle County Police Department is the county agency. It reported 4,279 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in New Castle County: the River and Bay Authority, Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement, Animal Welfare in New Castle County and Attorney General in New Castle County (state agency); the Amtrak Police and the Wilmington Fire Department (other); the University of Delaware (campus police); the New Castle County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Wilmington Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Wilmington: 2,259 for 2025, 2,252 for 2024, 2,607 for 2023, 2,737 for 2022, 2,968 for 2021 and 2,887 for 2020.
Wilmington's 2,259 arrests in 2025 were up 0.3 percent from 2,252 in 2024.
Through May 2026, Wilmington reported 919 arrests, against 905 in the same months of 2025.
Across New Castle County, the eight agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 8,104 arrests between them.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wilmington Are Held
In Delaware the jails belong to the state. Anyone held after an arrest in Wilmington is booked into a facility of the Delaware Department of Correction, and the inmate lookup is the state's.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Delaware Department of Correction lists its inmates at doc.delaware.gov/views/inmate_locator.blade.shtml.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Wilmington
An arrest in Wilmington can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the Delaware Department of Correction's inmate locator, for anyone held; the case index of the Delaware Superior Court, New Castle County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.delaware.gov/docket.aspx).
Statewide, CourtConnect is the Delaware courts' free online case search for civil cases and judgments.
Delaware does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Delaware State Bureau of Identification goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Wilmington
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 15 business days, and it may charge the copy fees set by statute, plus staff time after the first hour.
- An arrest by the Wilmington police: the police records page SearchSystems verified at wilmingtonde.gov/government/public-safety/wilmington-police-departm... (page title: Requesting Copies of Reports | Wilmington, DE), phone (302) 576-3607, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 26, 2026.
- An arrest by the New Castle County Police Department: ask its records unit.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Delaware Superior Court, New Castle County, through the court records page at courts.delaware.gov/docket.aspx.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Bureau of Identification.
The New Castle County guide covers every agency in the county: New Castle County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wilmington each year?
Wilmington reported 2,259 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Wilmington?
Through the Delaware Department of Correction's inmate locator at doc.delaware.gov; the department holds everyone in custody in Delaware.
Where are people arrested in Wilmington booked?
In a facility of the Delaware Department of Correction, which runs every jail in Delaware.
Are arrest records public in Wilmington?
The court files of criminal cases in the Delaware Superior Court, New Castle County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Delaware State Bureau of Identification is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Wilmington?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wilmington police for its own arrests, the New Castle County Police Department for the sheriff's. Under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 15 business days.
Is this the official Wilmington website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.