MATT CHATS - EPISODE 9: Inside Delaware’s Safety Strategy with Secretary Josh Bushweller

In this episode of Matt Chats, Governor Matt Meyer speaks with Delaware’s Secretary of Safety and Homeland Security, Josh Bushweller, about how the state is approaching public safety in a rapidly changing world.

They dive into intelligence-sharing, real-time response systems, and new innovations like Video e911 that are helping Delaware stay ahead of threats. The conversation also highlights ongoing work to address gun violence and build safer, stronger communities.

A behind-the-scenes look at how Delaware is protecting its people — today and into the future.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Before we begin today's episode of Matt Chats, I want to share an important note with our viewers. This conversation with Secretary Bushweller was recorded before the tragic events at the Division of Motor Vehicles on December 23rd, 2025. Since that day, our administration has been working closely with the Delaware State Police to strengthen security measures at public facilities and to protect the safety and well-being of our public servants, law enforcement officers, first responders who show up every single day to serve Delawareans. I want to take a moment to recognize the extraordinary valor and bravery of Corporal Ty Snook. In his final moments, Corporal Snook made the ultimate sacrifice, physically placing himself in harm's way to protect another. His courage, selflessness, and devotion to duty represent the very best of public service and the very best of Delaware. His heroism will never be forgotten, and neither will the dedication and hard work of the women and men of the Delaware State Police who continue to serve our state with integrity, strength, and compassion, even in the most difficult moments. With that in mind, I want to turn now to today's conversation. This episode of Matt Chats is about service, about showing up for Delawareans, even when the work is hard and often unseen. Secretary Bushweller has dedicated his career to that mission, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to sit down with him and talk about the work ahead.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

So join me as we sit down with the people who are making a difference and hear how they're working together to lead our way to a better Delaware.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

I'm Governor Meyer. Welcome to Matt Chats, where we're talking with the people protecting, supporting, and building a future for the people of Delaware. Today we have a very special guest, the leader of public safety for our state, the Secretary of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Josh Bushweller. Secretary Bushweller has nearly three decades of experience with the State Police and now running Homeland Security for the State. Welcome, Josh.

SPEAKER_03 2:12

Well, thank you, Governor. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

My understanding is you're you're not someone who had, you know, a a parent, a grandparent, a great grandparent in public safety. Yep. We thought, I think, based on your performance in the state championship game for Dover High School back in 1988. No, 1988. Thank you with the the the championship throw to your twin brother. Yes. We thought we'd see you uh in the NFL. That didn't come to pass.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

Yeah, unfortunately, that plan didn't work out. So I chose a different path. So tell me how you ended up hadn't you ended up in law enforcement? Yeah, I did. That's a great question. So for me, as you alluded to, um, unfortunately, my my playing football career ended in college. Um, but really frankly, that's kind of the background that kind of led me towards law enforcement. So I grew up playing sports my entire life. Um, I enjoyed teamwork, I enjoyed competition, um, and I enjoyed being part of something bigger than just yourself. So when I when I went through college, I was thinking about a career that would kind of continue that path for me. Uh and I had an opportunity one day, uh, I was a psychology major uh attending Wesley College and Dover Police Department was in there looking um doing some recruiting. And I spoke to an officer about looking at a potential opportunity to do a ride-along. And I did the ride-long, and let me just tell you from that point forward, I knew what I wanted to do. Um, it was an experience that just showed me that there was a lot of teamwork, collaboration, um, competition within that, within that type of work. And for me, it just felt like this was a natural fit. And the other part is I love people, always have. And and the the fact that you get to deal with so many different people in so many different ways in law enforcement, it was just something that really was passionate for me. So that it really just led me to, I think this is something I want to do.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

Great. How tough was the academy? So you're a college kid going to an academy.

SPEAKER_03 4:16

Right, right. It was challenging. It was challenging. It's really interesting because as you alluded to, I had no family in law enforcement. Uh, I didn't really know many people in law enforcement, so I'm coming from a college background. Uh, and on day one of the academy, we're lined up outside waiting to start day one, and it's just all the recruits outside, really kind of unorganized, not knowing what we're supposed to do. And the doors open, the drill instructors come out and they tell us to get in formation, get in line, and to do it by by height. And and we did so. It was challenging. It was like 36 of us trying to rush and get together and get in in order by height. We get lined up, and one of the the drill instructors says, How many of you? He had a nice word he wanted to use, are out here. How many of you are out here? Well, I knew when I got the letter that I got accepted to the academy, there were 36 of us recruits, and no one is speaking. Literally, no one is speaking. And he keeps yelling, how many of you are out here? Well, I'm thinking to myself, well, I know. I I I read the letter, it was 36 of us. So I said, 36.

SPEAKER_02 5:25

What a mistake that I make. They come rushing over to me. Who said that? Who said that? I'm thinking, I said it. What's the first word out of your mouth? I'm not really sure.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

Sir or ma'am. Well, next thing you know, they yell, count off, and they start counting off. Well, lo and behold, there was only 34. That was not 36. Two didn't show up. They two came late, which I didn't know was gonna happen. So, needless to say, we all got in trouble because of because of what I did. So we all paid for it.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

So you got everybody in trouble. Yeah, I pretty much did. But you learned to start in trouble. Now I'm gonna remember that. Remember that when you talk to Secretary Bush, well, every sentence starts with sir or sir or ma'am?

SPEAKER_03 6:07

Begin and end. Sir, and begin with sir, and with sir, ma'am, yes, ma'am.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Ma'am, yes, ma'am. Right. Gotcha. I learned a valuable lesson that day. You uh you where was your first assignment?

SPEAKER_03 6:18

Uh well, I think you went through field training and stuff, what do you end up? Yeah, so it's important to know I spent two and a half years with Newcastle County Police Department before I became a dollar state trooper. Uh so within with the Newcastle County Police Department, my first assignment was in the Brookside area, um, which is Western Newark. And then when I came over to the state police, my first assignment, which was my home county, Troop Three, in Kent County. Uh-huh. Great.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

And you ultimately ended up doing a lot of intel work.

SPEAKER_03 6:42

I did. My my my career took me uh into the intelligence world within the Delaware Information Analysis Center, where I really had an opportunity to really get engaged with the broader law enforcement community, not just across Delaware, but across the country and really with our federal partners, with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Um, as we really looked at what we needed to do to be prepared to address any type of significant incident that's going to have any major impacts in Delaware or something that is happening across the country that ultimately may have some kind of impact or influence within Delaware as well. So what a great opportunity it was for me. Tremendous.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Any stories from that you can you're allowed to share?

SPEAKER_03 7:27

Um, no. But I will tell you it was an eye-open experience. Uh-huh. Um serving in that position, I had the opportunity to I was privy to a lot of information that most people are because of certain clearances that I held with the federal government. Uh and it was an it was really interesting to see the coordinated efforts that are there are quite a few people within our country and certainly with outside of our country that really want to do harm to to our country and to our state. Uh and all the work that goes on behind the scenes to prevent that from happening is really fascinating. Uh and to have a firsthand seat at the table to be a part of that and to look at that was just just a great experience.

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Yeah. Wow. Well, we we appreciate the service and you you you do things in that DIAC uh in the Delaware Information. Analysis Center that saves people's lives. Absolutely. And the people whose lives you're saving and protecting often don't even know that you did it.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

That's exactly right. Uh it's there's so much effort that goes on behind the scenes uh that that is does exactly what you say. The prevention side of it, the education side, the training, the relationships, the partnerships that that you work with every single day really prepares us to be best postured when we do have some type of significant incident in our state.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

We've invested in and continue to invest in amazing ways in technology. Uh I like to say that technology, all that stuff that we buy, all that cool equipment that didn't even exist two years or five years or twenty years ago is meaningless, meaningless unless we have the right people sitting there in front of it. Right. And so we we should be proud that we have extraordinary public servants who sat there with you.

SPEAKER_03 9:14

Yeah, no question. You're right. I mean, you can have the technology, the tools, the training, the education, but it starts with the people. You have to have the right people in place to ensure that you can accomplish the mission that that we need to do, which is ultimately protecting and serving those with within our state. Um, one of the great things we did as I know you're familiar with, is with our enhanced 911 system. Uh we had the opportunity to upgrade our 911 system to what they call E911, and what a significant fundamental change that was as far as how we manage our emergencies because what does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 9:42

If I'm uh what does E911 actually mean to me?

SPEAKER_03 9:45

Yeah, thank you. So it gives our first responders what they need immediately, information in real time that they can trust and and verify and act immediately. So for years, public or calling 911 um was just a voice over the phone. Um and if you didn't speak English, you you're you're in a difficult situation because you had to get a translator. Well, now with this enhanced 911, it provides over 90 different languages that can translate immediately. It also allows a live video stream from someone calling 911 to share their screen and what they're seeing in real time with the dispatchers, which can be transferred to the officers who are actually literally en route to the scene. So they get an opportunity to see firsthand what they're walking into. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 10:30

Fascinating. So if there's someone watching uh who speaks Chinese, I guess they're not going to understand much of this podcast because we don't have enhanced podcasts. True. Right. But if but if there's some there's someone in Delaware who speaks Chinese or Russian or Spanish or French, you're saying they can call 911. They don't need to speak English. No. They can speak their native language. Correct. And it automatically real-time will translate. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 10:54

But they translate the Russian to English to the dispatcher, and the dispatcher can speak back in English and it translates right away to Russian to the person calling. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

And today when when officers or paramedics are responding or firefighters are responding in an incident, you're saying there are situations where they can actually see the video of where they're going? Yes. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 11:12

It is unbelievable technology that is a significant enhancement when it comes to our 911 system, but really also for our first responders that are going to incidents uh specific to with violence is occurring, they can get a first-hand glimpse and actual live feed of what's happening.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

Yeah, it's it's really important that we that we give law enforcement the tools and they they uh that we share data and that they're in a place to to respond with all the latest, greatest tools when seconds really count. Let's talk about gun violence a little bit. I think that uh gun violence in our state and our country is way too high. No mother, uh no father should have to bury their child because of gun violence. And the reality is that's that that happens in Delaware. It does, unfortunately, all too often as well. You uh under your leadership, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Safety has been set up, uh implementing policies that are backed by data and research. Can you talk about that a little a little bit? Sure. It's very challenging. When you have someone with the with the mindset to to pick up a firearm, particularly at a young age, but even older people. It's hard for me to imagine someone thinking, I'm gonna pick up a firearm and shoot someone just for whatever reason. What can we do?

SPEAKER_03 12:33

Yeah, well, thank you very much for your support on the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety, because I think it was a significant step in the right direction and really taking a combined effort uh towards reducing gun violence across our state. So by creating an office, you really have given us a strategy for coordination accountability. Uh it really brings together the law enforcement, the private sector partners, our public health, our educators, and our community partners. So we're not really responding to each one incident. We're kind of taking a holistic and a long-term preventative framework towards this. So we could talk a little bit about the permit-to-purchase program that, as you know, we just implemented on the 16th. And this is an opportunity to collaborate with the Office of Gun Violence and Prevention where we're strengthening those who are out to purchase weapons, right? Thorough background checks, we're reinforcing um proper and safe firearm ownership, giving authorities the opportunity to identify risks before the gun changes hands to someone else. And we've in states that have implemented these types of measures uh have seen a reduction in homicides and seen a reduction in suicides. So really it's a great proactive step that we're taking to save lives across our street, our state. The other th I also like to mention that we have done a great job in investing heavily into things that really make the policies behind the scenes work. I talked a little about the training within law enforcement, our edu within our educators, our clinicians, and our community partners so that they can recognize risk, right, and intervene early when you identify something to ultimately hopefully prevent something from happening. And by having background checks and and safety planning, it helps us identify individuals individuals in crisis and connect them with support that they may need before they take some unfortunate act.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Great. That's good, good, good stuff, Josh. I know you have a good team working very hard on this, and you've done amazing work in meeting with community members all across the state. Yes. That's true.

SPEAKER_03 14:31

And it's vital. Um you know, unfortunately, gun violence isn't specific to one part of our state or specific to one type of community in our state. It's broad and across everywhere. Um and what's going on in Wilmington, it doesn't necessarily mean it's the same thing that's happening in Dover or even down in Laurel or Seaford, but but the common denominator is it's gun violence.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:49

Um and by bringing the community in and meeting with them and giving them a voice, uh, really helps us understand what the real issue is that is leading towards that gun violence in those certain areas across our state.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

What amazes me is going back to being my teeth teacher years, is the number of kids that we get in serious trouble and sometimes get involved in in firearm violence based on really, really dumb stuff. Just as the kids would say beefing about really, really small stuff. And so anything we can do to to prevent that is really appreciated. Look, it it it's an interesting time. We're we're facing cyber threats. There's uh what's it called when when uh somebody calls in and fakes uh an incident? Yeah, squatting. Squatting. Squatting. I mean, there some of these incidents I look at squatting, they're really dangerous. They are really, really dangerous. Correct. And people can lose the stuff that, you know, when you joined the force 30 years ago, these weren't, you know, squatting. You talk about squatting, someone going on a SWAT team or something. Right, right. Right. It's completely different. There are all these new challenges. Um and so what do you think as we lead Delaware in the future? What what's sort of the future of Homeland Security, the future of keeping Delaware and safe from cybersecurity?

SPEAKER_00 16:05

It's a crazy AI world where you see videos out there of something terrible and you don't even know if it's real or not.

SPEAKER_03 16:11

Trevor Burrus, Jr. Right. It's interesting you say that um about the AI and the videos, whether real or not. And just yesterday, uh I I oversee the Delaware Police Accountable Accountability Commission, um, where we get police agencies that are accredited meet certain standards. And we had an agency meet their standards, and they received their certificate and their award for meeting their um the D Pack standards. We got a photograph together and great photograph, and somehow someone took that photograph, and then now we're all dancing together after we presented the certificate. We're all jumping around dancing together. And that was created through AI. I have no idea. Some very talented people out there.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

Are you a talented dancer?

SPEAKER_03 16:49

Well, yeah, I actually kind of think I am. Um but that video that they showed, I was not. They've been trying to mock us a little bit. But but I will tell you AI is is a powerful tool that will significantly enhance the way we go about doing our business in protecting and serving the citizens of our state. But it's a very dangerous tool as well, that is something that we have to be fully aware of because you use swatting, for example, is we didn't see that in the past, but it's very common now. And and people are being put in harm's way because of bad actors who want to do harm to people, and they create these false illusions or these false allegations or accusations of something occurring that is not occurring and is drawing some type of law enforcement, law enforcement response. But as we move to the future, as you know, safety and homeland safety and homeland security, we're here to protect everyone. And we really accomplish that through like programs and plans, and most importantly, as we alluded to earlier in our conversation, is people. So we have over 2,000 employees under the Safety and Homeland Security Umbrella through 13 different divisions that are all here to fulfill our mission, uh, which we talked about technology briefly and how technology can enhance what we do. I certainly love the opportunity that we have now with our utilization of drones, uh, our modern communication with our E911 system, uh, and our artificial intelligence. Uh but the greatest tool we have again is our people. Our people. Um cyber threats are a serious concern. They're not gonna go away. Um we work very closely with our FBI, our Department of Technology and Information, uh, our Department of Homeland Security, uh, and and CISA to make sure that our state is properly prepared to prevent number one, but number two, respond, and number three, if we do have an incident to mitigate uh the the negative outcome that's gonna happen. So Delaware is a small state. We're very fortunate to have these relationships in place, and we talked about the Delaware Information Analysis Center earlier. Embedded in that center is the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. So everybody working together. Everybody working together.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Yeah, and you you uh your office did a great uh uh scenario for all the senior leaders in in state government on a number of security threats, including cybersecurity. So it's it's good also that we're constantly preparing not just people in government, but people outside of government.

SPEAKER_03 19:19

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Good. Anything else you'd like to add?

SPEAKER_03 19:23

No, I just really appreciate the fact that you started this conversation mentioning the the football, the state championship. And and I'm gonna get I'm sure I'm gonna get made fun of this, but I didn't plant that. You broke that. I didn't bring it up, but we did have the opportunity to win.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

We didn't start the first four conversations we had in our lives talking about that. So was it uh No, but that's really something. There's not not everybody in the state of Delaware, not everybody in the country gets to throw state championship winning pass to their to their twin brother to win it for for a little Dover High School.

SPEAKER_03 19:56

Yeah, no, I I also take the opportunity to thank the listeners and yourself, obviously, for the support of Safety, Homeland Security, and for all the people across our state that really support all of those first responders that are really working hard to keep our state safe. I just thank all of them.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Yeah, Josh. And thank you for your years of service and your and your family. There, as you mentioned, they're there I we were trying to count the I think something like a couple thousand peace officers in our state, law enforcement officers in all sorts of agencies in our state, waking up each and every morning. Even if they're off duty, they're still if the call comes, they're gonna suddenly be on duty to make sure Delawareans are kept safe. This is a uh a safe place. There are safe communities across our state because of your tremendous work and the work of the women and men across our state. Thank you. Thanks for your leadership. Thank you, sir. We'll see you on the next episode of Matt and Chats.