Wilmington Police Records

Wilmington police records are held by the Wilmington Police Department at 300 North Walnut Street. You can search Wilmington police records through the WPD Records Unit, the city FOIA portal, and the Delaware Courts system. Victims can walk in and get a free copy of a report. Others must write in and pay a fee. Crash reports go to parties on the crash, their lawyers, or their insurance firms. This page walks you through who to call, where to mail your form, and what to expect from the city and the state.

Wilmington Police Department Records

The Wilmington Police Department keeps all police records for acts that took place in city limits. The WPD Records Unit is the first stop for copies of incident and crash files. The office sits at 300 North Walnut Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. The phone line is (302) 576-3607. Staff take calls Monday to Friday during normal work hours. The Records Unit page at wilmingtonde.gov lists each form and each fee.

If you were a victim, you can walk in and get your copy for free. Bring a photo ID. The clerk will pull the file and hand you a copy at the front counter. No written form is needed for a victim's copy. The free rule helps crime victims file claims and move on. Non-victims cannot get that free copy. The WPD does not hand out full reports to the public. Police reports are not open under Delaware FOIA for Wilmington, so the unit has its own release rules under state law.

Crash reports cost $20. You mail a written ask to the Records Unit with a self-addressed stamped envelope. Pay by check or money order made out to the Wilmington Police Department. Serious injury or fatal crash reports cost $60. Only the people on the crash, their lawyers, or their insurance firms can get a copy. Mail all forms to Wilmington Police Department, Attention: Records Unit, 300 North Walnut Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801.

The open government page spells out the FOIA process that applies to city and state bodies alike. If the WPD denies a request, you can petition the Attorney General under the rules on this page.

Vehicle releases are not a Records Unit job. The Department of Finance handles vehicle release forms. For FBI Identity History Summary work or firearm buys, the Records Unit can book a fingerprint slot. The unit also helps walk-ins with licensing requests and Identity History Summary needs.

Wilmington Police Records and Public Records

Wilmington runs a GovQA-powered FOIA portal for most city records. The portal is not the right spot for police reports. But it is the right spot for city council minutes, budget files, permits, and more. The portal page sits at wilmingtonde.gov. You set up an account, file a request, and track the case from a dashboard. The city posts a FOIA policy PDF and a list of FOIA points of contact by department.

Delaware FOIA is found at 29 Del. C. Chapter 100. Under § 10003, all public records are open to view and copy during work hours. The city must reply in 15 business days. The first 20 pages are free. Each page after that is ten cents. Labor can be billed by the quarter hour at the rate of the lowest paid worker able to do the task.

Police reports in Wilmington are not FOIA records. The release rules for them come from state law and city rules, not from FOIA. That is why crash reports and incident reports go through the Records Unit, not the portal. But if the file you want is not a police report, the portal is the way to go.

The city has 19 FOIA exemptions at the state level under § 10002. Key ones cover investigatory files, intel files, and personal privacy. Medical and personnel files are also out of scope. If staff deny a request, they must cite the exemption in writing. You can then petition the Attorney General or file suit in Superior Court.

Wilmington Crime Reports and Stats

The WPD is the custodian of arrest data and crime reports for the city. The unit puts out yearly crime stats for all index crimes. Record seekers can find Wilmington data on the FBI Uniform Crime Report. The 2019 UCR showed 4,208 index crimes in Wilmington. Of that total, 1,058 were violent crimes. The rest, 3,150, were property crimes. The city logged 24 murders, 19 rapes, 326 robberies, and 689 aggravated assaults that year.

Property crimes broke down into 569 burglaries, 2,121 larceny thefts, 460 motor vehicle thefts, and two arson cases. The 2016 total was 4,829 index crimes. So the 2019 total marked a 13 percent drop in three years. The WPD keeps detailed records of each arrest, incident, and crash, and a file for each report runs the full retention cycle set by the state.

Under Delaware retention rules, the WPD must hold investigation files for 100 years. That matches the rules for the NCCPD and Dover PD. Most other local departments keep files for 10 years. The long hold period means old files are still on hand at the WPD for most of a century. After the hold runs out, the Delaware Public Archives takes the files.

For a state-wide view of crime and arrest data, the Delaware State Police FOIA page has a form and PDF. Angie von Bank runs FOIA intake for DSP. The DSP office sits at 1441 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

Wilmington Criminal History and Court Records

For a full criminal history, the request goes to the State Bureau of Identification, not the WPD. The SBI office for New Castle County is at Delaware State Police Troop 2 on Route 40, west of Fox Run Shopping Center, Bear, DE 19701. An appointment is required. Call (302) 739-2528 to book a slot. The state-only check costs $52.50. A state and federal check costs $69.00. The SBI takes cash, credit and debit cards, bank checks, money orders, and company checks. Personal checks are not accepted.

Bring a photo ID to the SBI. A valid driver's license or state ID from any state works. The SBI does not ask for a social security card or a birth certificate. Results for New Castle County take time, so plan ahead. SBI hours vary by county. Tuesday runs later to give working folks a chance to come in.

Court records for Wilmington sit at the Superior Court of Delaware. The court is in the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center, 500 N. King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. The phone line is (302) 255-0800. The public counter runs Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Use the Delaware Courts site to find CourtConnect, forms, and each clerk. CourtConnect lists case data for Superior Court, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Justice of the Peace Court. Search by name or case number.

Arrest records flow from the arresting agency. When you ask for an arrest record, give the full name, the date of birth or an age guess, the date of arrest, the case number if known, and the arresting agency. Fees for a certified record run $25 to $45 depending on the search.

Wilmington Jail and City Council Records

The primary jail for New Castle County is the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington. The facility holds pretrial detainees and short-term inmates. For inmate lookups, check the Department of Correction site. The DOC page has a facility locator and inmate search tool. Staff can help with visit and mail rules.

The city government is led by the Wilmington City Council. The council has 13 elected members who serve four-year terms. The annual budget runs about $156 million. Council meetings are held on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Meetings start at 6:30 PM at City Council Chambers, 800 North French Street. Meeting minutes and agendas are public. Ask for them through the GovQA portal.

Note: The council meets in public per the Delaware Sunshine Law. Agendas go up ahead of each meeting, and minutes go up after.

Wilmington Police Records and AG Opinions

The Delaware Attorney General has ruled on WPD record requests. In AG Opinion 19-IB62, the AG backed WPD's denial of ShotSpotter activation records. The city cited the exemptions for intel files compiled for law-enforcement use and investigatory files for pending cases, under 29 Del. C. § 10002(1)(3) and (1)(5). The city told the AG that every ShotSpotter hit starts a new case. Each hit needs an investigative report. A sworn affidavit from the WPD Inspector of Operations said that releasing such data would get in the way of cases and put victims, witnesses, or the public at risk. The AG agreed.

The ruling sets a bar for WPD tech data. If a tool feeds into the case file, the data tied to it is likely shielded. Other AG rulings point the same way. In Opinion 25-IB29 the AG upheld a DSP denial of body cam and dash cam footage for a live case. In Opinion 24-IB01 the AG said DSP did not have to hand over sworn officer names, salaries, pasts, or resumes. Read past AG opinions before you file.

To petition the Attorney General after a denial, email opengovernment@delaware.gov. You can also mail the office at 820 N. French St, 6th Floor, Wilmington, DE 19801. The page at attorneygeneral.delaware.gov walks you through the petition steps. The office can find a violation and order the record to be released.

The DSP FOIA page links to the intake form and the PDF. It is the right stop for state-wide trooper files, which may touch Wilmington cases.

How to File for a Wilmington Police Report

Here is the short version of the steps to get a report from the WPD Records Unit:

• Write a short letter that states what you want and why you qualify
• Include your full name, address, email, and phone
• Include the date, place, and case number if you have it
• Add a self-addressed stamped envelope
• Add a check or money order for $20 (or $60 for fatal crashes)
• Mail to Wilmington Police Department, Attention: Records Unit, 300 North Walnut Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801

Call the Records Unit at (302) 576-3607 with any question. The staff can tell you what form to use and what the right fee is. If you are a victim, you do not need a written form. Just walk in with a photo ID. If you are a lawyer or work for an insurance firm, write a short letter on firm letterhead. List the case number and the date. Add the $20 check.

New Castle County Resources

Wilmington is the county seat of New Castle County. For county-level records and the NCCPD, visit the county page.

Nearby Cities

Other nearby Delaware cities run their own police records units. Each city has its own forms, fees, and rules. Pick a city below for local contact info.