Skip to main content

Homeland Security: Federal Protective Service Has Taken Some Initial Steps to Address Its Challenges, but Vulnerabilities Still Exist

GAO-09-1047T Published: Sep 23, 2009. Publicly Released: Sep 23, 2009.
Jump To:
Skip to Highlights

Highlights

To accomplish its mission of protecting federal facilities, the Federal Protective Services (FPS), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), currently has a budget of about $1 billion, about 1,200 full-time employees, and about 15,000 contract security guards. This testimony is based on completed and ongoing work for this Subcommittee and discusses: (1) challenges FPS faces in protecting federal facilities and (2) how FPS's actions address these challenges. To perform this work, GAO visited FPS's 11 regions, analyzed FPS data, and interviewed FPS officials, guards, and contractors. GAO also conducted covert testing at 10 judgmentally selected level IV facilities in four cities. Because of the sensitivity of some of the information, GAO cannot identify the specific locations of incidents discussed. A level IV facility has over 450 employees and a high volume of public contact.

Full Report

Office of Public Affairs

Topics

AccountabilityAgency missionsEmployeesFacility securityFederal facilitiesFederal intelligence agenciesHomeland securityHuman capital planningInformation systemsMonitoringPhysical securityRisk managementStaff utilizationStrategic planningSystems analysisTraining utilizationX-ray machinesEmployment assistance programs