The jail roster of Sussex County, Delaware, is a public resource that allows citizens to find out who is currently in custody at the county correctional facility. On the website SussexCourt.us, you can find publicly available information about current and recently released inmates. Additional sources of information include the online inmate search of the Delaware Department of Correction, the Sussex County Sheriff's Office, personal inquiries, and phone requests. In Delaware, correctional facilities are managed by the Department of Correction rather than individual counties. The main facility in the county is the Sussex Correctional Institution in Georgetown. The roster is updated by the state department and serves as a transparency tool for the public.
Search Current Inmates in Sussex Jail
To check if a person is in custody at the Sussex County correctional facility, use one of the following methods:
Online Search
- Visit SussexCourt.us to search for publicly available court and penitentiary information.
- Use the official Inmate Locator of the Delaware Department of Correction — this tool operates 24/7 and allows you to find inmates under the state's jurisdiction.
- Enter the person's full legal first and last name. If the booking number is known, it can also be useful for an accurate search.
To check court cases related to detention, use Delaware Court Connect — the state's court case database, where you can search by name or case number.
Phone Inquiry
Call the Sussex County Sheriff's Office at (302) 856-5655. The operator can inform you if a specific person is in custody, provided you give the full name.
Personal Visit
You can personally visit the sheriff's office or the Sussex Correctional Institution.
Sussex County Sheriff's Office
Sussex Correctional Institution
Note: Juvenile offenders are not displayed in the public roster. Information about them is confidential according to Delaware state law.
Additionally, the Delaware State Police arrest archive contains press releases about recent arrests made by state police in the county.
Find Sussex Jail Booking Records Online
A booking record is created at the moment a detained person is officially admitted to the correctional facility. It is the first document that records the fact of custody.
Each record typically includes:
- Booking number
- Date and time of admission
- Charges presented
- Name of the agency that made the arrest
- Basic demographic information of the detainee
In Delaware, booking records for individuals in state correctional facilities are available through the Inmate Locator on the Department of Correction's website. This tool allows crime victims and the public to obtain up-to-date information about custody status.
If you need more detailed information than what is available online, you can submit a written request for records directly to the Department of Correction. To check a person's criminal history through fingerprints, contact the Delaware State Police — the cost of such a check is $75.00.
Search for court materials related to the inmate's case separately through Court Connect or on the Sussex County court calendars page.
Search the Sussex Jail Roster by Last Name or Booking Number
Two main ways to search the inmate roster:
Search by Last Name
Enter the last name in Latin characters in the appropriate field. To narrow the results, add the first name. Some practical tips:
- Use the exact spelling of the legal name — nicknames and abbreviations do not work.
- If the last name has multiple spelling variations (e.g., hyphenated), try both.
- When the system returns too many results, add the date of birth if such a field is provided.
Search by Booking Number
If you already know the booking number, enter it directly. This is the fastest way to a specific record — especially useful when the name is common.
What to Do if the Search Yields No Results
- Check the spelling of the name.
- The person may have already been released — the roster only shows those currently in custody.
- The arrest may have occurred recently, and the record has not yet appeared in the system.
- The person may be held in another state facility — try the statewide Inmate Locator.
- Call the facility directly for clarification.
Also, check if there is an active arrest warrant through the DELJIS system — the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System allows you to check for warrants or capiases.
Jail Roster Updates and Search Limitations in Sussex
The Delaware Department of Correction inmate roster is updated regularly but not in real-time. There may be a delay of several hours to a day between the actual admission of a person to the facility and the appearance of the record in the online database.
Main limitations to be aware of:
- Delay after booking. The processing — fingerprinting, photographing, medical examination — takes time. Until it is completed, the record will not appear in the system.
- Disappearance of records after release. The public roster only shows individuals currently in custody. After release, transfer, or posting bail, the record disappears from the current list.
- Not an archive. The roster is not a database of all past bookings. To obtain historical records, you need to submit a separate request to the Department of Correction or contact the state police for a certified criminal history.
- Data entry errors. Sometimes a name may be recorded incorrectly during processing, complicating the search.
If you cannot find the information you need online, the most reliable option is to call the Sussex Correctional Institution or the county sheriff's office at (302) 856-5655 and inquire directly. To track the court process after an arrest, use Court Connect, where data on scheduled hearings and case status in Sussex County courts is available.