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  1. Kent County Court
  2. Kent County Arrest Records

Kent County, Delaware Arrest Records

Kent County arrest records are official documents created by law enforcement agencies to capture the details of an arrest incident. They contain information about the arrestee, the alleged offense, arrest location, and basic booking details. Under Delaware Code Title 11 § 1901, law enforcement officers are authorized to make an arrest when they have probable cause that an individual has committed a crime.

Arrest records are generated by the arresting agencies, such as the Delaware State Police and municipal police departments, including the Dover Police Department, Smyrna Police Department and Harrington Police Department. Under Title 11, Chapter 85 of the Delaware Code, the state maintains a separate body of law that governs criminal history record information.

Are Arrest Records Public Information in Kent County, Delaware?

Arrest records in Kent County are considered public records. Under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act, citizens may request and obtain most arrest records from the designated record custodian. The statute grants citizens access to records about public business generated by government agencies. The Delaware State Bureau of Identification (SBI) is the official custodian of Kent County arrest records.

To obtain official arrest records, requesters must provide a valid photo ID, such as a driver's license or state ID from any US state. However, requesters do not have to be residents of Kent County or the State of Delaware to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for arrest records.

What Do Public Kent County Arrest Records Contain?

Public Kent County arrest records contain basic details concerning an arrest, collected when the arrest is conducted. These are readily accessible under the FOIA. Record seekers may find the following information in Kent County arrest records:

  • Personal details about the arrestee, including their full name, date of birth, mugshot, and a physical description
  • Details of the arrest event, including the date and location
  • The arresting agency
  • The arresting officer
  • The alleged offense or a citation of the statute violated
  • Booking number, the date and time of booking, and bail information (if the individual is granted bail).

However, more detailed investigatory information about certain arrest records is exempted from public access. This protects privacy and ensures the integrity of ongoing investigations. Such exempted records include:

  • Information that can impact ongoing investigations
  • Juvenile records
  • Sensitive personal information including Social Security Numbers, health records, medical records, financial statements, and driver's license numbers
  • Records sealed or expunged under a state or federal law or by a court injunction
  • Information identifying victims of abuse

Kent County, Delaware Arrest Search

When an individual is arrested by a state or federal law enforcement agency within the County, interested parties may send a request to the arresting agency to find the incident's arrest record. This presupposes that record seekers should know the arresting agency. The agencies provide online resources through which record seekers may find information about arrestees held in custody within their facilities.

For instance, record seekers may find information about an offender arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the Federal Inmate Locator. Information about individuals held in custody by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is available through the agency's Online Detainee Locator System.

Kent County Inmate Locator

Interested parties may track the custody status of inmates by visiting the official Delaware DOC Inmate Locator page. Alternatively, they may access VINELink from the DOC page and select Delaware from the state list.

Arrests in Kent County, Delaware are handled by the Delaware State Police and municipal police departments, such as the Dover Police Department and the Smyrna Police Department. The Capitol police and other specialized agencies are also authorized to make arrests. To locate inmates, record seekers should identify the arresting agency. In addition, they must have details about the arrest record handy, such as the arrestee's name, date, and location of the arrest. They should also provide a photo ID when requesting an arrest record.

Kent County Sheriff's Office

555 S Bay Road,

Dover, DE 19901

Phone: (302) 736-2161

How to Find Arrest Records for Free in Kent County

To get arrest records for free in Kent County, interested parties may use the BOP inmate locator or the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System (DELJIS). In addition, they can also find free arrest records from the county through third-party websites. Such websites provide access to arrest information from criminal records, inmate records and court documents. However, these third-party websites may not contain accurate or up-to-date data, as they are not affiliated with the government.

Furthermore, the Smyrna Police Department provides a portal that allows the public to search for arrests. The Delaware State Police provides a tool for the public to search for arrests and active warrants. Using the tool, interested parties may conduct a name search. For this search, record seekers should have information about the arrest record they seek, such as the name, date of birth, or booking number. However, there are limitations to these free tools. These sources provide basic arrest details. Record seekers are unlikely to find detailed or redacted information on free sites.

Kent County Arrest Report

An arrest record in Kent County is a law enforcement document that provides information about an arrest. It is a structured entry that documents the arrest event and associated details such as the suspect's physical description, personal details, and booking information.

An arrest report is a different document. It is the narrative written by the arresting officer describing circumstances that led to the arrest. This includes the officer's firsthand account of the event, their observations such as the suspect's behavior, physical evidence, and statements, probable cause and investigative context. Unlike the arrest record, which is a summary entry, the arrest report is more detailed and has a narrative character from the arresting officer's perspective.

How to Get an Arrest Record Expunged in Kent County

The expungement statutes in Kent County, Delaware are codified under 11 Del. C. §§ 4371-4375. Expungement allows an individual to have their arrest record erased and removed from public view. In Delaware, there are two pathways to expungement:

  • Mandatory expungements pertain to cases that were dismissed, acquitted or resulted in a nolle prosequi.
  • Discretionary expungements are those during which a judge decides whether the continued existence of the record causes manifest injustice. That is, expungement serves the best interest of the state and the individual.

In addition to the above two pathways, the state, through its clean slate law, automatically provides the relief of record expungement for qualifying eligible low-level offenses. However, certain serious convictions such as violent felonies and sex offenses are not eligible for expungement.

The first step in seeking expungement is to ascertain eligibility. Following this, the offender must obtain a certified criminal history report from the State Bureau of Identification (SBI).

Individuals may submit a petition to a superior or family court for discretionary expungement. The court will review the case and determine if the record causes manifest injustice, that is, it causes hardship to the individual. A hearing may be required before deciding whether to grant or deny the petition.

How Do You Remove Kent County Arrest Records From the Internet?

Under Title 11, Chapter 43 of the Delaware Code, expungement is the legal mechanism for removing arrest records from public access. Once an expungement has been granted, or processed automatically for qualifying offenses under the Clean Slate Act, law enforcement agencies and the court system must remove such records from public access. They must be segregated, destroyed or placed under the control of the State Bureau of Identification (SBI).

Once this process is completed, records no longer appear in official online databases or standard public background checks. However, expungement does not automatically purge private websites such as mugshot aggregators, data-broker sites or data archives. To seek removal from these sources, the individuals should:

  • Obtain a certified copy of the expungement order
  • Search for their information on major sites and locate each site's opt-out, privacy or removal request form.
  • Submit a formal request for removal that includes the court order
  • Follow up and document all correspondence.

After expungement, record owners may periodically conduct a name search and proactively contact any violating sources for removal.