Delaware committee approves anti-crime funding for Wilmington, Dover

Using $2 million of bank foreclosure settlement money, a Delaware legislative spending committee approved a plan to fund crime fighting efforts in Wilmington and Dover.

The Joint Finance Committee agreed to spend $2 million from a bank foreclosure settlement to address crime in Delaware’s two largest cities – Wilmington and Dover.

Wilmington will get the bulk of the money with $1,515,600, which will be used to increase patrols by Wilmington Police, New Castle County Police and State Police.

Wilmington police will use $75,000 of the money to pay for a Delaware State Police analyst to come along side Wilmington PD to analyze crime data. That information with then be used to target specific areas for extra attention.

“I’m pleased Delaware State Police will combine their efforts with Wilmington and New Castle County Police to create a high visibility uniformed presence in the city,” said Governor Jack Markell in a statement. “The JFC’s decision allows us to move quickly to stem gun violence in Wilmington and Dover.”

Gun violence has been a significant, ongoing problem in both Wilmington and, to a lesser extent, Dover.

Earlier this year, the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commissioned issued a series of recommendations to fight crime in the city. The main finding by the committee was that the Wilmington PD has the resources it needs to combat crime but mismanagement and lack of strategy are creating an ineffective force.