diff --git a/lib/class-wp-rest-plugins-controller.php b/lib/class-wp-rest-plugins-controller.php
index 8e6ac19..c34da84 100644
--- a/lib/class-wp-rest-plugins-controller.php
+++ b/lib/class-wp-rest-plugins-controller.php
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ public function get_items( $request ) {
 		$data = array();
 
 		require_once ABSPATH . '/wp-admin/includes/plugin.php';
-		foreach ( get_plugins() as $obj ) {
+		foreach ( $this->get_plugins() as $obj ) {
 			$plugin = $this->prepare_item_for_response( $obj, $request );
 			if ( is_wp_error( $plugin ) ) {
 				continue;
@@ -87,21 +87,10 @@ public function get_item_permissions_check( $request ) {
 
 	public function get_item( $request ) {
 		$slug   = $request['slug'];
-		$plugin = null;
+		$plugin = $this->get_plugin( $slug );
 
-		require_once ABSPATH . '/wp-admin/includes/plugin.php';
-		$plugins = get_plugins();
-
-		foreach ( $plugins as $active_plugin ) {
-			$sanitized_title = sanitize_title( $active_plugin['Name'] );
-			if ( $slug === $sanitized_title ) {
-				$plugin = $active_plugin;
-				break;
-			}
-		}
-
-		if ( ! $plugin ) {
-			return new WP_Error( 'rest_post_invalid_id', __( 'Invalid post id.' ), array( 'status' => 404 ) );
+		if ( null === $plugin ) {
+			return new WP_Error( 'rest_plugin_invalid_slug', sprintf( __( 'Plugin with slug %s not found.' ), $slug ), array( 'status' => 404 ) );
 		}
 
 		$data     = $this->prepare_item_for_response( $plugin, $request );
@@ -120,7 +109,7 @@ public function get_item( $request ) {
 	public function delete_item_permissions_check( $request ) {
 
 		if ( ! current_user_can( 'delete_plugins' ) ) {
-			return new WP_Error( 'rest_forbidden', __( 'Sorry, you cannot delete this plugin' ), array( 'status' => rest_authorization_required_code() ) );
+			return new WP_Error( 'rest_forbidden', __( 'Sorry, you cannot delete plugins' ), array( 'status' => rest_authorization_required_code() ) );
 		}
 
 		return true;
@@ -135,6 +124,27 @@ public function delete_item_permissions_check( $request ) {
 	 */
 	public function delete_item( $request ) {
 
+		$slug = $request['slug'];
+
+		$plugin = $this->get_plugin( $slug );
+
+		if ( null === $plugin ) {
+			return new WP_Error( 'rest_plugin_invalid_slug', sprintf( __( 'Plugin with slug %s not found.' ), $slug ), array( 'status' => 404 ) );
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * TODO: we cannot directly use the delete_plugins() function because that has the possibility of terminating the script with a nice exit() call
+		 *
+		 * my initial stab at this would be:
+		 *
+		 * ob_start()
+		 * request_filesystem_credentials() - if this is false => WP_Error (code =? message =?)
+		 * if ( ! WP_filesyste( $credentials ) ) => WP_Error
+		 *
+		 * at this point, delete_plugins() can be called
+		 *
+		 */
+
 	}
 
 	public function get_item_schema() {
@@ -143,6 +153,10 @@ public function get_item_schema() {
 			'title'      => 'plugin',
 			'type'       => 'object',
 			'properties' => array(
+				'slug'        => array(
+					'description' => __( 'Identifier for the plugin' ),
+					'type'        => 'string',
+				),
 				'name'        => array(
 					'description' => __( 'The title for the resource.' ),
 					'type'        => 'string',
@@ -200,6 +214,7 @@ public function get_collection_params() {
 
 	public function prepare_item_for_response( $plugin, $request ) {
 		$data = array(
+			'slug'        => $plugin['slug'],
 			'name'        => $plugin['Name'],
 			'plugin_uri'  => $plugin['PluginURI'],
 			'version'     => $plugin['Version'],
@@ -215,4 +230,52 @@ public function prepare_item_for_response( $plugin, $request ) {
 
 		return $data;
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Find a plugin by slug
+	 *
+	 * @param string $slug
+	 * @return array|null
+	 */
+	protected function get_plugin( $slug ) {
+
+		require_once ABSPATH . '/wp-admin/includes/plugin.php';
+
+		foreach ( $this->get_plugins() as $_path => $plugin ) {
+			if ( $slug === $plugin['slug'] ) {
+				return $plugin;
+			}
+		}
+
+		return null;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Fetches the list of plugins, with additional slug and _path fields added to each item
+	 *
+	 * @return array
+	 */
+	protected function get_plugins() {
+		$_plugins = array();
+
+		foreach ( get_plugins() as $_path => $plugin ) {
+			$plugin['_path']    = $_path;
+			$plugin['slug']     = $this->get_slug( $plugin );
+			$_plugins[ $_path ] = $plugin;
+		}
+
+		return $_plugins;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Get the slug (identifier) for a plugin based on its name
+	 *
+	 * @param array $plugin
+	 * @return string
+	 */
+	protected function get_slug( $plugin ) {
+
+		return sanitize_title( $plugin['Name'] );
+
+	}
 }
diff --git a/tests/test-rest-plugins-controller.php b/tests/test-rest-plugins-controller.php
index 350260b..ce18357 100644
--- a/tests/test-rest-plugins-controller.php
+++ b/tests/test-rest-plugins-controller.php
@@ -75,7 +75,8 @@ public function test_get_item_schema() {
 		$response = $this->server->dispatch( $request );
 		$data = $response->get_data();
 		$properties = $data['schema']['properties'];
-		$this->assertEquals( 11, count( $properties ) );
+		$this->assertEquals( 12, count( $properties ) );
+		$this->assertArrayHasKey( 'slug', $properties );
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey( 'name', $properties );
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey( 'plugin_uri', $properties );
 		$this->assertArrayHasKey( 'version', $properties );
diff --git a/tests/test-rest-themes-controller.php b/tests/test-rest-themes-controller.php
index 1682b9f..8bfe2f2 100644
--- a/tests/test-rest-themes-controller.php
+++ b/tests/test-rest-themes-controller.php
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ public function test_register_routes() {
 	public function test_get_items_without_permissions() {
 		wp_set_current_user( 0 );
 
-		$request = new WP_REST_Request( 'GET', '/wp/v2/plugins' );
+		$request = new WP_REST_Request( 'GET', '/wp/v2/themes' );
 
 		$response = $this->server->dispatch( $request );