Skip to main content

Homeland Security: The Federal Protective Service Faces Several Challenges That Hamper Its Ability to Protect Federal Facilities

GAO-08-683 Published: Jun 11, 2008. Publicly Released: Jun 18, 2008.
Jump To:
Skip to Highlights

Highlights

In 2003, the Federal Protective Service (FPS) transferred from the General Services Administration (GSA) to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). FPS provides physical security and law enforcement services to about 9,000 GSA facilities. To accomplish its mission of protecting GSA facilities, FPS currently has an annual budget of about $1 billion, 1,100 employees, and 15,000 contract guards located throughout the country. Recently, FPS has faced several challenges protecting GSA facilities and federal employees. This report provides information and analysis on (1) FPS's operational challenges and actions it has taken to address them, (2) funding challenges FPS faces and actions it has taken to address them, and (3) how FPS measures the effectiveness of its efforts to protect GSA facilities. To address these objectives, we conducted site visits at 7 of FPS's 11 regions and interviewed FPS, GSA, tenant agencies, and local law enforcement officials.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Homeland Security To improve its ability to address its operational and funding challenges and to ensure that it has useful performance measures and reliable information to assess the effectiveness of efforts to protect GSA facilities, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Director of FPS to develop and implement a strategic approach to manage its staffing resources that, among other things, determines the optimum number of employees needed to accomplish its facility protection mission and allocate these resources based on risk management principles and the agency's goals and performance measures.
Closed – Implemented
We found that decreases in the Federal Protective Service's (FPS) staffing resources has hampered its ability to protect the over 1 million government employees as well as members of the public who work in and visit 9,000 federal facilities each year. FPS's staff decreased by 20 percent between fiscal years 2004 and 2007. We recommended that FPS develop and implement a strategic approach to manage its staffing resources including determining the optimum number of employees needed to accomplish its facility protection mission and allocate these resources based on risk management principles. In response, Congress included provisions in the fiscal years 2008 and 2009 Consolidated Appropriations Act requiring FPS to increase its staff to no less than 1,200 full time employees including 900 full time law enforcement personnel. As a result, in April 2009,FPS increased its staff to 1,239 full time employees which will help it to accomplish its facility protection mission.
Department of Homeland Security To improve its ability to address its operational and funding challenges and to ensure that it has useful performance measures and reliable information to assess the effectiveness of efforts to protect GSA facilities, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Director of FPS to clarify roles and responsibilities of local law enforcement agencies in regard to responding to incidents at GSA facilities.
Closed – Implemented
We reported in 2008 that the Federal Protective Service (FPS) faces several challenges that hamper its ability to protect federal facilities. Specifically, we reported that FPS had increased its reliance on state and local law enforcement agencies for assistance with crime and other incidents at federal facilities without coordinating with them. However, we reported that FPS did not have memorandum of agreements with local law enforcement agencies and that without such agreements it was unclear if local law enforcement have authority to enforce federal laws and regulations or have the resources to assist FPS. Thus we recommended that FPS clarify roles and responsibilities of local law enforcement agencies in regard to responding to incidents at federal facilities. To improve its collaboration with local law enforcement, as of September 2011, FPS has entered into agreements with many local law enforcement agencies or developed guidance that addresses issues such as scope of local law enforcement authorities. These efforts will result in more local law enforcement agencies assisting FPS with responding to incidents at federal facilities. Action taken
Department of Homeland Security To improve its ability to address its operational and funding challenges and to ensure that it has useful performance measures and reliable information to assess the effectiveness of efforts to protect GSA facilities, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Director of FPS to improve FPS's use of the fee-based system by developing a method to accurately account for the cost of providing security services to tenant agencies and ensuring that its fee structure takes into consideration the varying levels of risk and service provided at GSA facilities.
Closed – Implemented
We reported in 2008 that several stakeholders raised questions about whether Federal Protective Service's (FPS) has an accurate understanding of the cost of providing security at federal facilities. Thus, we recommended that FPS improve its use of the fee-based system by developing a method to accurately account for the cost of providing security services to tenant agencies and ensure that its fee structure takes into consideration the varying levels of risk and service provided at federal facilities. In response to this recommendation, in March 2012, FPS awarded a contract to, among other things, to help it develop an activity base cost system. As a result, FPS will be in a better position to begin addressing its funding and operational challenges
Department of Homeland Security To improve its ability to address its operational and funding challenges and to ensure that it has useful performance measures and reliable information to assess the effectiveness of efforts to protect GSA facilities, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Director of FPS to evaluate whether FPS's current use of a fee-based system or an alternative funding mechanism is the most appropriate manner to fund the agency.
Closed – Implemented
We reported in 2008 that the Federal Protective Service's (FPS) primary means of funding its operations (the basic security fee) does not account for the risk faced by specific federal facilities, the level of service provided, or the cost of providing services; and raises questions about equity. Thus, we recommended that FPS evaluate whether its current use of a fee-based system or an alternative funding mechanism is the most appropriate manner to fund the agency. In response to this recommendation, in March 2012, FPS awarded a contract to, among other things, evaluate its current user fee structure and to recommend any changes to the current fee structure that would better align user fees with FPS services. As a result, FPS will be in a better position to begin addressing its funding and operational challenges.
Department of Homeland Security To improve its ability to address its operational and funding challenges and to ensure that it has useful performance measures and reliable information to assess the effectiveness of efforts to protect GSA facilities, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Director of FPS to develop and implement specific guidelines and standards for measuring its performance, including outcome measures to assess its performance and improve the accountability of FPS.
Closed – Implemented
We reported in 2008 that the Federal Protective Service (FPS) faces several challenges that hamper its ability to protect federal facilities. Specifically, we reported that FPS lacks outcome measures to assess the effectiveness of its efforts to protect federal facilities. We recommended that FPS ensure that it has useful performance measures to assess the effectiveness of efforts to protect federal facilities. In response to this recommendation, in 2011, FPS developed guidelines for measuring its performance and improving accountability that identifies performance measures and corresponding targets. For example, FPS measures the percent of countermeasures at federal facilities that are in compliance with standards and percent of tenant agencies satisfied with the level of security provided at federal facilities. FPS's efforts will allow it to track the agency's progress towards achieving its goals and provide FPS managers with better information on which to base decisions for improving their progress.
Department of Homeland Security To improve its ability to address its operational and funding challenges and to ensure that it has useful performance measures and reliable information to assess the effectiveness of efforts to protect GSA facilities, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Director of FPS to improve how FPS categorizes, collects, and analyzes data to help it better manage and understand the results of its efforts to protect GSA facilities.
Closed – Implemented
We reported in 2008 that the Federal Protective Service (FPS) faced challenges in ensuring that its data management system provided accurate and reliable indicators of crimes and other incidents at federal facilities. Thus, we recommended that FPS improve how it categorizes, collects, and analyzes data to help it better manage and understand the results of its efforts to protect federal facilities. In response, in 2011, FPS implemented an incident and offense data capture and analysis process that helped the agency improve crime and other incident related data. FPS's efforts will allow it to track the agency's progress in achieving its goals and provide FPS managers with better information on which to base decisions for improving their progress.

Full Report

Office of Public Affairs

Topics

Agency missionsContract administrationCost analysisData collectionData integrityEmployee retentionFacility securityFederal employeesFederal facilitiesFederal fundsFee-for-service plansFeesFunds managementHomeland securityHuman capital managementHuman capital planningInformation managementLaw enforcementLaw enforcement agenciesPerformance measuresPhysical securityProgram managementRisk assessmentRisk managementSecurity investigationsSecurity services contractsCost estimatesOperations and maintenance costs