City wants State Police to stop using New Castle in listing crime locations outside city
The City of New Castle announced that, through an agreement with the United States Postal Service, city residents and businesses can now begin to use “Historic New Castle” as their mailing address.
The change as seen a way to differentiate the historic city from the 19720 zip code that includes a sprawling area that runs south from the edge of the city of Wilmington.
Incidents in the 62,000 population zip code area are reported by the State Police as occurring in New Castle (population 5,200).
New Castle County Police typically list specific neighborhoods (Wilmington Manor, Minquadale, etc. in the New Castle area in their crime and accident reports. State Police typically have jurisdiction over commercial areas along Route 13 and other highways in the 19702 zip code.
Descriptions by zip code are common in northern Delaware. State Police use zip codes for Newark and Wilmington in listing locations of crimes in areas within their jurisdiction.
For example, State Police reports in the Bear-Glasgow area sometimes use a Newark zip code that covers that area.
The cities of Newark and Wilmington have their own police departments.
The City of New Castle appealed to the USPS for a new ZIP Code, but was told that operational issues make that impossible.
The USPS instead offered the use of an alternate name. City Council agreed and has chosen the name “Historic New Castle.” The council hopes that this change will help make a distinction in all types of statistics, while it continues to address the issue of locations in police reporting.
This change should also help reduce confusion among some local residents regarding whether they live in the city or not. This has been a particular problem in terms of elections and government services.
The name “Historic New Castle” is already widely used. New Castle is Delaware’s oldest city, incorporated in 1672. William Penn was said to have set foot in what became New Castle before sailing up the river and founding Philadelphia.
The new address applies only within the boundaries of the city and that use of the address is optional.
