Matthew Denn

Protecting Delaware’s Most Vulnerable Citizens

Prosecuting child predators and others who prey on our most vulnerable citizens, like the elderly and disabled, must be a priority,

Protecting Delawareans from Identity Theft and Other Internet Crimes

As more and more Delawareans are victims of identity theft and data security breaches, we need to update and strengthen Delaware’s laws with respect to the obligation of affected institutions to make things right when they allow the personal information of Delawareans to be improperly accessed or released.

Providing the Highest Quality Legal Representation to the State

Half of the hundreds of attorneys in the Department of Justice represent the different agencies of the State of Delaware, and providing good, quality legal service to state agencies saves the state money and helps these agencies better serve the public.

Reducing Violent Crime Part II: Addressing its Underlying Causes

Earlier, I released my seven-point plan for dealing with our state’s violent crime and homicide problem through traditional law enforcement means that have shown immediate success when employed in other states and cities. That plan is part of the solution to our state’s violent crime problem. But if we are to successfully address violent crime in the long run, we also need to address some of the underlying causes of criminal activity much more aggressively than we have in the past. Few of these efforts can be pursued unilaterally by the Attorney General, but the Attorney General has a critical role to play in advocating public and private funding for these efforts, and in bringing people and organizations together to pursue them.

Reducing Violent Crime, Part I: Seven Steps To Crack Down On Criminals

There are a variety of crime challenges facing the State of Delaware, but the single most acute problem is that too many people in our state are being killed. In 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, the homicide rate in our state steadily increased, at the same time that homicide rates in most states around the country were dropping.[1] The rate of homicides in 2014 suggests that this may be one of Delaware’s most violent years in recent memory.

There are two parts to addressing our state’s violent crime problem. One part involves better dealing with some of the underlying causes of violent crime: our high rates of substance abuse, the high recidivism rate among inmates who are released from our prisons, the absence of adequate after-school and summer programs for our youth, and the overall quality of the educational and early childhood programs that we provide to our children. Over the long term, our improvement in these areas will have a significant impact on our crime rates in Delaware – and I will have more to say about each during this campaign.

But there is also a law enforcement component to reducing violent crime, and Delaware has substantial room to improve in that area. As the highest ranking and most visible law enforcement official in the state, the Attorney General has an important leadership and coordinating role to play in improving law enforcement efforts.

Safer and Better Schools

I want to continue the work that Attorney General Biden and I have started to combat school bullying, and in particular the new problem of cyberbullying.

Stopping Health Care Fraud and Insurance Fraud

Health care fraud and insurance fraud have become more sophisticated, and in order to investigate and prosecute them, the Attorney General’s office needs a greater capacity to take advantage of technology and data.

Strict Enforcement of Delaware’s State Civil Rights Statutes

Delaware has its own state civil rights statutes, which in some cases provide Delawareans with more protections than federal civil rights statutes. ^[4]