Wilmington Delaware Sex Offender Registry

Wilmington residents can search for registered sex offenders through the Delaware Sex Offender Central Registry at no cost. The registry lets you look up sex offenders in Wilmington by name or address. It covers Tier II and Tier III offenders who live, work, or study in the city. Wilmington is the largest city in Delaware and sits in New Castle County. Local registration takes place at Delaware State Police Troop 2 in Newark. The Wilmington Police Department also plays a role in monitoring sex offenders and handling community notifications for the city.

Wilmington Sex Offender Registry Search

The Delaware State Police runs the Delaware Sex Offender Central Registry, and it covers all of Wilmington. You can search by name, by city, or by street address and radius. The site shows a photo, current address, offense details, and tier level for each offender listed. Results appear only for Tier II and Tier III registrants. Tier I sex offenders are not shown to the public. The registry is free to use and requires no login or account. Data is updated nightly as offenders report changes to their registration.

The registry also has an interactive map. It places pins for each registered offender in a given area. You can zoom into Wilmington neighborhoods and see where offenders are registered at a glance. For searches to work on the map, your screen needs to be at least 768 pixels wide. You can also sign up for email alerts. The alert system notifies you when a sex offender moves into your area or when an existing registrant changes their address. Sign-up is done directly on the registry website.

For a broader search, the National Sex Offender Public Website pulls registry data from all 50 states and U.S. territories, including Delaware. Use this if you want to check whether someone has a sex offense record in another state or if you are not sure which state's registry to search.

The screenshot below links to the Delaware Sex Offender Central Registry, where you can search for registered sex offenders in Wilmington by name or address.

Searches return name, photo, address, offense history, and tier classification for each registered offender found in or near Wilmington.

Sex Offender Registration for Wilmington Residents

Wilmington residents who are required to register as sex offenders must do so at Delaware State Police Troop 2. The address is 100 Corporal Stephen J Ballard Way in Newark, Delaware. This is the designated registration site for all of New Castle County, which includes Wilmington. The S.O.A.R. unit's current hours are Tuesday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. There is a lunch break from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. No service is available on Mondays. Plan your visit for one of those four weekdays during open hours.

Out-of-state sex offenders who move to Wilmington must register within 3 business days of establishing residence. Offenders who visit Delaware for 7 or more days, or for 30 or more cumulative days in a calendar year, must also register within 3 days of arrival. Address changes must be reported within 3 business days of the move. Missing that deadline is not a minor issue. Failure to register is a Class G felony under 11 Del. C. § 4120.

Verification schedules for Wilmington registrants depend on tier level. Tier I offenders check in once a year. Tier II offenders verify every 6 months. Tier III offenders verify every 90 days. Homeless registrants face more frequent checks, which are covered in the section below.

The Delaware State Police S.O.A.R. unit page below shows contact information and registration details for the unit that handles sex offender registration serving Wilmington and all of New Castle County.

You can reach the S.O.A.R. unit at (302) 739-5882 for questions about registration requirements or to report a sex offender who may be out of compliance.

Wilmington Police and Sex Offender Monitoring

The Wilmington Police Department supports Delaware State Police by providing links and information related to sex offender registration within city limits. The WPD Drug, Organized Crime and Vice Division is responsible for ensuring the department stays in compliance with state law provisions on sex offender monitoring. The division also handles community notifications and investigates possible violations by registered sex offenders in Wilmington.

For sex offender related matters at the Wilmington Police Department, you can contact Detective James Tobin directly. His phone number is (302) 576-3643. His email is james.tobin@cj.state.de.us. Detective Tobin handles local compliance follow-up and can answer questions about specific notifications or suspected violations by a registered sex offender living or working in Wilmington.

If a registered sex offender in Wilmington fails to verify their address or goes missing from the registry, the Delaware State Police will post a public notification. You can find recent notifications on the DSP newsroom. Those posts include photos and last-known locations. Anyone with information on a wanted registrant can call the S.O.A.R. tip line at (302) 739-5882, contact Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, or text "DSP" to 274637.

The Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington serves as the primary booking facility for arrests made in Wilmington and throughout New Castle County. Offenders booked there who are subject to registration requirements must register before or at the time of release. The Delaware Superior Court in Wilmington, located at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center at 500 N. King Street, handles sex offense cases in New Castle County. The court can be reached at (302) 255-0800.

Homeless Sex Offenders in Wilmington

Wilmington has the highest concentration of homeless registered sex offenders of any city in Delaware. A study published in the National Library of Medicine analyzed homelessness among Delaware's registered sex offenders from 2021 to 2023. The study found that Wilmington had 34 homeless registrants, which accounted for 28.3% of all homeless registrants statewide. No other city in Delaware came close to that number. Dover ranked second with 26, and together the two cities accounted for roughly half of all homeless registered sex offenders in the state.

Looking at specific ZIP codes, the picture is even sharper. ZIP code 19801 in Wilmington had 17 homeless registrants, which is 14.2% of the statewide total. More importantly, 11.5% of all registrants in that ZIP code were classified as homeless. That is the highest homelessness rate of any ZIP code in Delaware. ZIP code 19805, also in Wilmington, had 11 homeless registrants, or 9.2% of the statewide total. These numbers reflect a real concentration of housing instability among registered sex offenders in the city's core neighborhoods.

Under Delaware law, a registrant is considered homeless when they are unable to secure an anticipated place of future residence. That includes living outdoors, in shelters, in hotels or motels on a short-term basis, or in temporary housing provided by social services. Homeless status does not mean the person is wanted for a crime. It means they have no fixed address and must verify more often.

The research screenshot below links to the National Library of Medicine study on homelessness among sex offenders on Delaware's registry, which shows how Wilmington compares to other cities statewide.

The study highlights how Wilmington's downtown ZIP codes carry a disproportionate share of the state's homeless registered sex offender population.

Verification schedules are stricter for homeless registrants. Tier III homeless sex offenders in Wilmington must verify every 7 days. Tier II homeless registrants must check in every 30 days. Tier I homeless registrants verify every 90 days. These shorter intervals reflect the difficulty of tracking people who lack stable housing.

Tier Notifications and Community Safety in Wilmington

Delaware uses a three-tier system to classify registered sex offenders. Tier placement determines how often an offender must verify, whether their record is public, and what kind of community notification takes place. For Wilmington residents, this means different levels of outreach depending on which tier the offender has been assigned.

Tier III sex offenders in Wilmington are classified as high-risk. Their records are posted publicly on the registry. Beyond that, neighbors are directly notified when a Tier III offender registers in the area. This active community notification goes to people who live close to the offender's registered address. Tier III offenders must register for life and verify every 90 days, or every 7 days if homeless.

Tier II sex offenders in Wilmington are moderate-risk. Their records are also public. However, community notification works differently. Schools and daycares near the offender's address are notified rather than individual neighbors. Under Senate Bill 66, passed in 2023, schools must provide written or online notice directing the public to the registry and to sign up for community alerts. They are no longer required to maintain physical binders of sex offender notifications. Tier II offenders must verify every 6 months.

To sign up for email alerts when a sex offender registers or moves in your area of Wilmington, go to the Delaware Sex Offender Central Registry website. The alert sign-up is on the registry portal. You enter your address or ZIP code, and the system notifies you when the registry changes in your area. The DSP newsroom also posts public notifications for wanted or noncompliant offenders across the state, including Wilmington. The New Castle City Police also maintains a page of important links that includes sex offender registry resources for the area.

Reporting Sex Offenders in Wilmington

If you believe a registered sex offender in Wilmington is out of compliance, you have a few ways to report it. The most direct route is to call the Delaware State Police S.O.A.R. unit at (302) 739-5882. You can also reach the unit at (302) 672-5306. Tips can be submitted anonymously through Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333 or by texting "DSP" to 274637. All of these lines accept information about missing registrants, address changes that have not been reported, or other possible violations.

For Wilmington-specific concerns, you can contact Detective James Tobin at the Wilmington Police Department by phone at (302) 576-3643 or by email at james.tobin@cj.state.de.us. WPD handles local follow-up and investigates possible violations within city limits. State Police handle the formal registration process, but WPD works alongside them on city cases.

The Delaware State Police website has current contact information for the S.O.A.R. unit, recent public notifications, and links to the registry. If you think someone may be a registered sex offender but are not sure, run a name search on the Delaware Sex Offender Central Registry before reporting. That search is free and shows results for Tier II and Tier III registrants statewide.

• S.O.A.R. tip line: (302) 739-5882
• S.O.A.R. secondary line: (302) 672-5306
• Delaware Crime Stoppers: 1-800-TIP-3333
• Text tip line: text "DSP" to 274637
• WPD Detective Tobin: (302) 576-3643

Child care facilities in Wilmington that need to confirm whether a worker or volunteer is on a sex offender registry can contact the Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing. That office coordinates background checks that include a search of the Delaware Sex Offender Registry, out-of-state registries, and the national registry.

New Castle County Sex Offender Records

Wilmington is in New Castle County. All sex offender registrations for Wilmington residents go through the county's assigned site at DSP Troop 2 in Newark. For more on how the county handles registration, local court information, and county-level resources, visit the New Castle County sex offender records page.

View New Castle County Sex Offender Records

Nearby Qualifying Cities

These other Delaware cities also have sex offender registry information. Each city has its own local law enforcement contacts and resources tied to the state registry.