Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill

How to Search for State Prison Inmates in Delaware

The Delaware Department of Corrections began, although less formally, in 1776.

Delaware’s correctional facilities have a general capacity of 5,000. Unsentenced individuals make up a good percentrage of the total incarcerated population. There are another 10,000 on probation or parole, and all of these are overseen by a staff of approximatyely 2,500.

The following will explain the tricks and hacks you can use to find any inmate in custody with the Delaware Department of Corrections.

Since Delaware does not have its own online inmate search, it contracts with Vinelink Inmate Search Notification System to keep track of inmates, both sentenced and unsentenced, that it has in custody. The Vinelink System is updated daily, and sometimes more often.

In order to search for an inmate, you have to know the exact spelling of their full name, first AND last. The only information you will get after looking up an inmate, is the facility in which they are being held, their age and their race.

You do not need to register an account with Vinelink, although if you are registered you will be able to get the inmate's date of birth and their full Inmate ID# in the listing, as well as get notified when the inmate is moved to another facility, or is released.

Step 1

• Go to the Delaware Vinelink page.
• Enter their First and last Name.

Step 2

• Review the listing.
• At this stage you can create an account in order to see their Date of Birth, ID #, and be notified if they are moved to another facility, or if they are released.

Local Jails in Delaware

There are no city or county jails in Delaware. All offenders, while awaiting court dates for serious crimes, are held in one of Delaware's State Prisons overseen by the Delaware Department of Corrections.

After an arrest, an offender in Delaware is sometimes held in one of the state facilities until they either pay a bond or bail, which entitles them to be released upon a promise to return to court for their trial, or they are held until their trial.

If an offender is found guilty and is given a sentence of short sentence of a week or two, he or she will do their time in that same state facility.

If they are found guilty and given a longer sentence, they will be remanded to the Delaware Department of Corrections to do their time. The only exception is if their crime is a federal offense. In that case they will be tried in a federal court and if found guilty, will be remanded to a federal prison.

In order to get money to an offender in the Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill, please adhere to these guidelines:

• Personal checks will not be accepted
• It is unwise to send cash in the mail
• Money orders may be sent by mail or dropped off during scheduled visits with the offender to whom the money is going.
  1301 E. 12th Street
  Wilmington, DE 19801
• PLEASE NOTE: Howard R. Young Correctional Institution (HRYCI) does not accept money orders at the time of visit

All money orders must include the following information:

• Offender's full name
• Offender's SBI number Call 302-429-7700 to get this number.
• Assigned institution
• Name of the remitter

NOTE: Money sent to an inmate will be credited to the offender's account within 24 hours of receipt (during normal business hours).

Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill Inmate Visitation Schedule

1301 E. 12th Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
302-577-5837

• First, you must register for visitation with GTL/gettingout?ViaPath
  
• Visits are to be scheduled in advance by calling 302-577-5837; Monday thru Wednesday.
• Visits will be scheduled for the following week and will take place Monday - Sunday.
• Most inmates may have one (1) video visit in addition to a face-to-face visit each week in fifteen (15) or thirty (30) minute increments.
• Visiting procedures if the COVID scare is still in place.

There are three Ways to Communicate with an Inmate in the Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill by Phone

To get started you must first open an account with GTL Connect Network (aka Viapath Technologies)

• Advance Pay - This phone account allows you to prepay so that your inmate can call you (and only you) whenever he/she wants and the cost of each call is deducted from your balance. You can even be notified by text when your balance gets low. You still have the option of accepting or rejecting each call.
• Pin Debit  -  This option allows you to fund an inmate's commissary account and lets him pay for phone calls to you and others with the money. You will have no control over who your inmate calls.
• Voicemail  -  You can leave a secure voicemail without having to contact the facility. When you call the local phone number for a facility offering Inmate Voicemail (call Customer Service at 877-650-4249 to get the local voicemail number for Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill, you will be informed of the cost for leaving a message. To leave your message, simply select the inmate by ID number. Then, record your voicemail.

How to deposit money for Inmate Communications:

• Online
• By phone by calling 877-650-4249
• Deposit by cash, visa or mc debit and credit cards in the Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill lobby kiosk
• By mail... Check or Money Order made out to:
  AdvancePay Service Department
  P.O. Box 911722
  Denver, CO 80291-1722
• Cash deposits to ConnectNetwork are also available at 26,000 retail locations nationwide including Walmart, ACE, Kmart, Kroger, and more. You’ll start the payment process online in your ConnectNetwork account, then complete your transaction with cash at a participating local retail store. Plus, many of these stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Find a retail store near you.

Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill Inmate Mail Guidelines

Postcards
The Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature. It is best to only use blue or black ink. Always include your name and return address.

Envelopes
The Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates. It is best to only use blue or black ink.

Postcards and envelopes MUST HAVE the sender's full name and return address on the envelope. 

Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
1301 E. 12th Street
Wilmington, DE 19801

Legal Mail

Send all Legal Mail to this Address:
1301 E. 12th Street
Wilmington, DE 19801

Newspapers
Newspapers may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher.

Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.

Books
The Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address noted.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill standards will be disposed of. 
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.

All newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
1301 E. 12th Street
Wilmington, DE 19801

In order to get money to an offender in the Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill, please adhere to these guidelines:

• Personal checks will not be accepted
• It is unwise to send cash in the mail
• Money orders may be sent by mail or dropped off during scheduled visits with the offender to whom the money is going.
  1301 E. 12th Street
  Wilmington, DE 19801
• PLEASE NOTE: Howard R. Young Correctional Institution (HRYCI) does not accept money orders at the time of visit

All money orders must include the following information:

• Offender's full name
• Offender's SBI number Call 302-429-7700 to get this number.
• Assigned institution
• Name of the remitter

NOTE: Money sent to an inmate will be credited to the offender's account within 24 hours of receipt (during normal business hours).

Emailing and Texting Messages & Photos

Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill contracts with GTL GettingOut, the same service that handles Inmate Phone Systems and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.


If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.

Then use the Facility Finder to:
1.  Select Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.

How Messaging Works
Watch this video on how to send a message.
1.  Messages can be up to 500 characters long, including punctuation. At the bottom of your message there is a 'character countdown' feature.  
2. After you click the “CONTINUE” button, you can review the cost to send your message to your inmate. You can also attach credits for your inmate to reply to your message.  Be sure to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the “SEND” button for your message to be successfully delivered to your inmate.

How Uploading Photos Works
Watch this video on how to upload a photo.
1.  Select the Photos Tab.
2. Select “Take New Photo” or “Upload New Photo”.
3. Take a new photo with your webcam, or select "Choose File" to upload a photo from your computer.
4. Give your photo a Title or add it to the "Gallery" of your choice.
5. Select the "Share" button.
6. Select your inmate(s) and then select "Share".
7. Once the photo is approved, it will be shared with your inmate(s).

Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call   866-516-0115

Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill allows inmates access to tablets to use for the services provided by 'gettingout'.

The devices are similar to common handheld tablets, but are made exclusively by GettingOut, a GTL company.
Tablets offer specialized content and services for inmates to use during their stay at Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill, such as:

• Music
• Books
• Games
• Education
• News
• Radio
• Television
• Read mail and messages
• Video visits

-  Free services are already available for use on the device at Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill.
-  Subscription services are funded separately by family and friends with deposits made into an inmate’s Debit Link account.
-  Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill Inmates will then be able to purchase subscription services and premium content to enjoy.

What Does a Tablet Cost?

• Tablet devices include some services and the content is free.
• The subscription services require additional funding.
• There may be multiple options such as 7-day or 30-day subscriptions.
• Costs are dependent upon the available services and what the Howard R. Young Correctional / Gander Hill charges.

To estimate costs for phone calls, sign in to your account and click “Rate & Fees Calculator” in the footer (bottom of the page) or call 866-516-0115 for assistance.

Once an inmate is convicted and sentenced for a violation of that state’s felony laws (and their sentence is more than one year in length), they are moved from the City or County Jail and sent to a State Prison in Delaware. If the violation they are convicted of is a federal crime, they will be sent to a Federal Prison, but will not necessarily be doing their time in Delaware.

Delaware State Prisons are operated and maintained by the state government and are used to confine and rehabilitate criminals. State prisons are funded by state tax money. The fund is used to provide food and clothes to inmates and to hire employees to keep the prison running. Inmates in state prison enjoy certain privileges such as TV use and recreation, both indoor and outdoor. The number of privileges allowed depends on the security level of the prison, the inmate and the overall needs of the prison on a specific day.

Delaware has minimum, medium and maximum security prisons. The Corrections Department in Delaware also maintains low (or no) security residential settings and camps where inmates assist in state property maintenance and duties such as fighting fires. Almost all prisons provide ‘jobs’ where an inmate can earn a small hourly wage and even learn a trade. Some prisons even contract with call centers and handle phone calls on issues related to their state government. Criminals who have committed a violent crime or killed someone are likely housed in a maximum security prison. If the inmate in these prisons behave, they are also eligible to recreate and/or work as well.

In Delaware Prisons rehabilitation is the stated goal but the reality is that they exist to punish inmates for their crimes and keep them from hurting or harming innocent people on the outside who follow the laws and live and act responsibly. The fact is that most prison systems are underfunded, overcrowded and are not able to spend time and money rehabilitating offenders. This is not the fault of the people hired to work in prisons, they are just victims of the lack of resources due to budgeting constraints.

State Inmate

Most states have Department of Corrections websites that allow you to type in a felon's first and last name and pull up inmates in that state.

If you need to find a sentenced inmate serving time in a state other than Delaware, go here. To find an inmate in Delaware, just scroll to the top of the page and click on the Inmate Search button.

Once you locate them click next to the inmate's name or on the link provided and it will show you which prison the inmate is housed in. If the inmate is no longer incarcerated, but is on parole/probation or discharged, it will tell you that as well. In addition, many state prison inmate pages show recent mug shots.

Federal Inmate

The federal prison system has its own inmate locator called the Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator.

Type in the inmate's name and it will tell you where he or she is incarcerated and their projected release date. It also lists released federal prison inmates and the date they were released.

Federal inmates who are moved from one prison to another will show as "No longer in federal custody" on the system until they reach their next federal prison destination. This movement can take a few days to several months to complete, so keep checking back to find out where the inmate was taken.

ICE Inmates

The ICE Detainee Lookup allows friends, family members and interested parties to locate illegal and/or undocumented immigrants that are in the United States without permission.

Has the Inmate been recently arrested?... Try a County Jail

In many cases, the person you are looking for has either not been convicted or sentenced or has been sentenced and is awaiting transport to a State or Federal Prison and is still incarcerated in a City or County Jail.

To locate that person, go here to first find the State, and then the County where they were originally arrested or have been transported to. From there you can begin your search in our databases that contain the names and information of millions of inmates.

Jailexchange.com has all information on every jail and prison in the United States.