MILFORD, DE- The Milford Police Department is getting a new evidence storage facility after the original plans were cut from the 2023 police department design. Police officials say the facility is needed now more than ever to handle major cases and properly process evidence.
Last week, the Milford City Council approved plans for the roughly $2 million project. The new facility will be built on a plot behind the police station and is designed to provide a secure space for processing vehicles, storing major evidence, and supporting the department's growing responsibilities.
While the new police station in Milford opened in 2023, Sgt. Timothy Maloney said the evidence facility had been removed from the original budget to keep the project fiscally responsible.
"Due to, you know, budgetary reasons and also to be fiscally responsible with the taxpayers' money, the project was initially cut."
But now, two years later, Chief Cecila Ashe says the new evidence storage facility is something the department badly needs. She said the evidence storage building will allow officers to handle large amounts of evidence on-site, including vehicles involved in fatal crashes.
"If we have a fatal accident, we can bring the vehicle into this evidence storage area, process it. And that also helps us preserve the evidence as well."
Ashe explained that while she had long seen the need for a facility like this in Milford, demand recently increased as reduced statewide resources placed greater responsibility on local municipalities.
"Something that kind of expedited, this to the top of our list was most recently, you know, we have to look at resources across the state. Everybody in law enforcement is very limited with those resources. And so recently, Delaware State Police, who used to handle a lot of our fatal accidents or serious accidents, are no longer able to do that."
With crash numbers rising across Delaware, Maloney says the new facility is even more critical, providing a dedicated space to preserve evidence, including vehicles, bicycles, and other large items.
"Over the last couple of years, the accidents in the state, unfortunately, have been on the rise, like serious physical injury and or fatal accidents. The Delaware State Police Department has asked local municipalities to take back over those investigations. Here, you know, 20 years ago, we didn't have as many, so they took on that burden of handling those incidents for us. But now, it's shifted back to the local level."
Ashe said having a dedicated space will help the department continue to serve the community effectively.
"Part of that is being able to bring a vehicle in, or even just a larger piece of evidence to process it and give everybody the ability to fair justice in that, try to recover as much evidence as we possibly can in the most secure way."
Milford police say construction is expected to begin in January, with hopes of completion by September 2026.