STATEMENTS FROM HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES SECRETARY RITA LANDGRAF AND SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY LEWIS SCHILIRO

NEW CASTLE (April 24, 2014) - Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf and Department of Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Lewis Schiliro released the following statements about the crime lab at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner:

"The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner needs to be reformed and we have independent consultants doing a top-to-bottom review of that office," said Secretary Rita Landgraf of the Department of Health and Social Services. "Whether we combine the forensic resources of the State Police and Medical Examiner in a new crime lab is just one of the things we will be discussing with our consultants and with law enforcement in the coming months."

"Forensic science is an increasingly important part of how we solve crimes today and we have some state-of-the-art resources already on the ground," said Secretary Lewis Schiliro of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. "But we are always looking at options to improve our delivery of forensic sciences to the police and the public. One option would be building a new crime lab similar to Maryland's $24 million facility, which my department took deputies from the Attorney General's office to tour. Whether we build something similar or not, we have to stay on top of the science and we have to improve our capacity to handle these cases. Our focus right now is on catching the person or persons who committed this crime, but we look forward to talking about this more."

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.