Attorney General Beau Biden is calling for a new crime lab after a scandal involving drug evidence.
Biden’s office launched an ongoing criminal investigation into the Medical Examiner’s Office after police and prosecutors uncovered problems with drug evidence that had been submitted for testing.
The recent problems with evidence testing and the resulting delays and costs to the criminal justice system show the need for a new crime laboratory and have drawn public attention to challenges that police and prosecutors and Delaware have long faced, a release from Biden’s office stated.
“Delaware must have its own independent, state-of-the-art crime laboratory. A new crime lab is the right thing to do for Delaware’s criminal justice system and the right thing to do for taxpayers,” said Biden, who recently announced plans to not run for a third term as AG. “For too long, police and prosecutors have had to overcome the challenges posed by the current scenario that forces us to send different evidence to separate laboratories in Delaware, and in many cases, to private laboratories out of state because the Delaware facilities lack either the capability or the capacity. As a result, investigations and prosecutions can be significantly delayed, compromising, at times, the orderly administration of justice.”
” A new, state-of-the-art crime lab will make Delaware’s criminal justice system more effective and efficient. It will help police and prosecutors arrest and convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent, and it will save taxpayers money in the long term. Delaware cannot afford to wait any longer,” Biden said.
Biden added that senior prosecutors from his office have already visited the Maryland crime lab, which can serve as a model for what should be built in Delaware. Biden’s office will convene a group of stakeholders from the executive and legislative branches, state and local law enforcement, the scientific community and national experts this summer to begin the planning process for a new facility, he announced.
