Washington
Federal Workers Unprotected
The US police agency that oversees protecting numerous federal buildings
is so understaffed that it has reduced outside patrols who are supposed
to find suspicious people and car bombs, according to a June 18th report
from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The study was requested by the heads of five congressional committees
after previous hearings generated concern about the Federal Protective
Service (FPS). The FPS offers security for over 1 million federal workers
at around 9,000 buildings in the Washington, D.C., region and throughout
the nation. Stuck in a monetary squeeze in recent years, the FPS has cut
its staff by around 20 percent, to 1,100 officers, the study reports.
It oversees around 15,000 contract security guards at the buildings. The
study, however, points out that the protective service is hiring 150 officers
and improving its finances, although the measures ‘may not fully
resolve’ the security troubles.
The study tracks the FPS' problems to its absorption in 2003 by the Department
of Homeland Security. The FPS lost a $139-million yearly subsidy it had
gotten as part of the General Services Administration (GSA) and fell into
financial chaos.
The FPS responded by letting go of officers and concentrating them on
managing the contract guards. The report condemned that method, claiming
it ‘has diminished security at GSA facilities and increased the risk
of crime or terrorist attacks’ at multiple buildings. The study found
that the protective service cut officers' hours at many facilities and
that a large number of the service's security cameras and X-ray machines
have not been functioning ‘for months or years.’
The report was also critical of the fact that contract guards, who typically
work at permanent posts and do not have arrest powers, are not inspected
on a regular basis.
