Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
New Castle County, Delaware, has about 588,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the New Castle County Police Department, eight city agencies and eight campus, state or other agencies. An arrest 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 each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: New Castle County public records, Delaware arrest records, Delaware inmate search and Delaware criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in New Castle County
The New Castle County Police Department is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for New Castle County. It reported 4,279 arrests for 2025. In Delaware the police for a given address is the town police in a town with its own department and the Delaware State Police elsewhere.
The FBI lists eight cities in New Castle County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Wilmington, 73,176 residents: 2,259 arrests reported for 2025.
- Newark, 30,506 residents: 781 arrests reported for 2025.
- Middletown, 25,686 residents: 553 arrests reported for 2025.
- Elsmere, 6,234 residents: 81 arrests reported for 2025.
- New Castle, 5,715 residents: 104 arrests reported for 2025.
- Townsend, 2,941 residents: 12 arrests reported for 2025.
- Delaware City, 1,933 residents: 35 arrests reported for 2025.
- Newport, 909 residents: 75 arrests reported for 2024.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The Smyrna Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including New Castle County, so its arrests are not broken out for New Castle County here.
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 Each Agency Reports in New Castle County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them 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.
- New Castle County Police Department: 4,279 for 2025, 4,154 for 2024, 4,276 for 2023, 4,401 for 2022, 4,608 for 2021 and 4,739 for 2020.
- 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.
- Newark: 781 for 2025, 1,058 for 2024, 870 for 2023, 1,004 for 2022, 940 for 2021 and 710 for 2020.
- Middletown: 553 for 2025, 538 for 2024, 593 for 2023, 558 for 2022, 512 for 2021 and 366 for 2020.
- New Castle: 104 for 2025, 167 for 2024, 160 for 2023, 212 for 2022, 152 for 2021 and 155 for 2020.
- Elsmere: 81 for 2025, 100 for 2024, 102 for 2023, 116 for 2022, 137 for 2021 and 115 for 2020.
- Delaware City: 35 for 2025, 22 for 2024, 25 for 2023, 20 for 2022, 19 for 2021 and 40 for 2020.
- Townsend: 12 for 2025, 6 for 2024 and 2 for 2023.
- Newport: 75 for 2024, 107 for 2023, 153 for 2022, 168 for 2021, 140 for 2020 and 139 for 2019.
Together, the eight agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 8,104 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 8,104 in 2025 against 8,297 in 2024, down 2.3 percent.
Through May 2026, the seven agencies with every month so far on file reported 3,475 arrests, against 3,235 in the same months of 2025.
Newport reported only part of 2025 (11 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in New Castle County Are Held
Delaware has no county jails. A person held after an arrest in New Castle County is in the custody of the Delaware Department of Correction, which runs every jail and prison in the state, so one inmate lookup covers the whole state.
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 New Castle County
An arrest in New Castle County 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 New Castle County
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 New Castle County Police Department: ask its records unit.
- An arrest in Wilmington, Newark, Middletown, Elsmere, New Castle, Townsend or another of the cities listed above: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by the River and Bay Authority, the Amtrak Police or Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement: the records office of the agency involved.
- 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.
Cities in New Castle County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for eight of the 13 cities in New Castle County: Wilmington, Newark, Middletown, Elsmere, New Castle, Townsend, Delaware City and Newport. Bellefonte, Arden, Odessa, Ardentown and Ardencroft have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in New Castle County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Wilmington (73,176)
- Newark (30,506)
- Middletown (25,686)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in New Castle County each year?
The New Castle County Police Department reported 4,279 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the eight agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 8,104 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in New Castle County?
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 New Castle County booked?
In a facility of the Delaware Department of Correction, which runs every jail in Delaware.
Are arrest records public in New Castle County?
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 New Castle County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the New Castle County Police Department for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 15 business days.
Is this the official New Castle County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.