Delaware State Departament Of Corrections Inmate Search

Delaware is one of the states with the lowest population in the United States. However, it has one of the highest crime rates in the country, translating to 4.2 per 1,000 people. Property crime is higher at 22.5 per a thousand people.  

The State's 4.3 violent crime rate is higher than the country's average of 4.0. Delaware's prison and jail system helps sentence and rehabilitate offenders to reduce crime and make the State safe for the residents. 

Delaware Individual in Custody Locator

The Delaware Department of Corrections advises people to use VineLink as an individual in-custody locator. To do the inmate search using this prison lookup tool, you should choose Delaware on the homepage as the inmate's location. Then, enter their full name, identification, or case number. 

If you don't know the full ID number or name, you can check the box partial number or partial name. Enter the first two characters of the ID number or name. Juveniles aren't treated as criminals, so their records are not public. Thus, you won't be able to search for them using this method.  

You can also search using the Freedom of Information Act to get inmate records from the Delaware Department of Corrections. You fill out the FOIA Online Request Form, send it online, or print it out and send it through email [email protected].  

Delaware Prison and Jail System  

The State has a unified state prison and jail system. All correctional institutions and facilities fall under state jurisdiction. The Delaware Department of Corrections supervises around 4500 to 5000 inmates with the correction facilities in the State. There are also around 13,000 persons on probation within the community in Delaware.  

The incarceration rate stands at 631 per 100,000 persons, including juvenile justice facilities, jails, prisons, and immigration detention. This means it locks more offenders than most states in the country. As of August 2022, Delaware had 3,354 inmates in its four-state correction facilities, 9,748 on probation, and 1,375 in pre-trial detention. Most of those incarcerated in prison are convicted of murder, rape, and burglary.   

The convicted offenders in Delaware spend their sentence terms in facilities including: 

• Sussex Correctional Center 
• Howard R Young Correctional Institution 
• James T Vaughn Correctional Center 
• Baylor Women's Correctional Institution 

The correction facilities in the State are multipurpose, meaning that they house prison and jail inmates together. Delaware Department of Corrections differentiates prison from jail depending on the duration of stay.  

Delaware county jails are run by the respective counties. The State gives some funding and does the oversight duty. The jails house persons awaiting sentence or trial and those serving short sentences, mostly a year or less. 

Contacting an Inmate  

You cannot make a phone call to an inmate in Delaware prisons. However, an inmate can contact you following the rules of the correction facility they are housed. You should create a prepaid phone account with the inmate to allow them to call you. You can send cards, written correspondence, or letters.  

Sending Money  

Delaware Department of Corrections has guidelines on sending money to an inmate in the state prisons. You can a money order by mail. You can also take the money order to the inmate during the scheduled visits. The money order should include the inmate's full name, SBI number, your name, and the inmate's incarceration facility.  

You can get the address of the facility to send the money order by visiting the department webpage. The facilities credit the inmate account within a day of receiving the money order.  

Howard R. Young Correctional Institution doesn't allow sending personal checks or cash to inmates.  

Visiting an Inmate  

All persons can visit an inmate in Delaware prison except those with criminal records or minors. Those under eighteen years should be accompanied by a legal guardian, parent, or a responsible person above 21 years old. You should know the specific prison, the full names of the inmate, and their identification number.  

All visits in Delaware prisons should be scheduled a week before. You need to call the help desk of the specific facility you want to visit to confirm the date and time you will visit. Each prison has specific visiting rules, so check them to comply.