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Federal Law Enforcement Mandatory Basic Training: Results of Surveys of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Components (GAO-07-1066SP), an E-supplement to GAO-07-815

GAO-07-1066SP Published: Aug 10, 2007. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2007.
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Highlights

This is the supporting product to GAO-07-815. This document presents selected results of GAO's mandatory basic training survey of 105 federal civilian components that employ law enforcement officers (LEO). We defined an LEO as a federal employee who is authorized to perform any of four specific functions: conduct criminal investigations, execute search warrants, make arrests, or carry firearms. The table presenting the selected results can be viewed by clicking on the Table of Contents at the bottom right of this screen. To collect the mandatory basic training information on these components, we administered a Web-based survey. This survey followed two previous Web-based surveys--one on the primary sources of authorities for the specified law enforcement functions and the other on the job series classifications used for such LEOs--which we reported on in Federal Law Enforcement: Survey of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Functions and Authorities, GAO-07-121, (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 19, 2006) and its electronic supplement Federal Law Enforcement: Results of Surveys of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Components, GAO-07-223SP. We received a response rate of 100 percent for the mandatory basic training survey, as well as the previous two surveys. A copy of the mandatory basic training survey can be viewed by clicking on the Table of Contents located at the bottom of this screen. The selected results we present list the components' mandatory basic training programs, program durations, the organizations conducting them, the general topics covered, the locations where the programs are conducted, and the job series classifications for which the programs are mandatory. We edited some responses to improve the presentation and consistency of the results, particularly in the names of training programs, organizations conducting the programs, and geographical locations.

Supplemental Material

This document presents selected results of GAO�s mandatory basic training survey of 105 federal civilian components that employ law enforcement officers (LEO). We defined an LEO as a federal employee who is authorized to perform any of four specific functions: conduct criminal investigations, execute search warrants, make arrests, or carry firearms. The table presenting the selected results can be viewed by clicking on the Table of Contents at the bottom right of this screen. To collect the mandatory basic training information on these components, we administered a Web-based survey. This survey followed two previous Web-based surveys�one on the primary sources of authorities for the specified law enforcement functions and the other on the job series classifications used for such LEOs�which we reported on in Federal Law Enforcement: Survey of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Functions and Authorities, GAO-07-121, (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 19, 2006) and its electronic supplement Federal Law Enforcement: Results of Surveys of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Components, GAO-07-223SP. We received a response rate of 100 percent for the mandatory basic training survey, as well as the previous two surveys. A copy of the mandatory basic training survey can be viewed by clicking on the Table of Contents located at the bottom of this screen. The selected results we present list the components� mandatory basic training programs, program durations, the organizations conducting them, the general topics covered, the locations where the programs are conducted, and the job series classifications for which the programs are mandatory. We edited some responses to improve the presentation and consistency of the results, particularly in the names of training programs, organizations conducting the programs, and geographical locations.

A more detailed discussion of our scope and methodology is contained in our report Federal Law Enforcement: Survey of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Mandatory Basic Training, GAO-07-815, (Washington, D.C.: July 27, 2007). We administered the survey from October 2006 to May 2007.


Instructions for Viewing This E-Supplement

How to View the Surveys

  • Click on the Table of Contents link at the bottom right of this screen. To read to the bottom of the screen, you may need to use your scroll bar on the right side of the screen.
  • In the Table of Contents are links to the survey described in this e-supplement and a summary table of information derived from the the survey.

What You Need to Know about the Presentation of the Survey in This E-Supplement

  • Every respondent was given a unique username and password to participate in the survey. They could start and stop their survey at any time and restart at the last response entered.
  • When a survey was active on the Internet, it was presented to the respondents on several screens. The respondents used the navigation buttons at the bottom of each screen to move forward and backward through the survey questionnaire.
  • Instead of presenting you with a series of screens, we simplified the presentation of the survey into a single html file. You will see a bright blue line across the pages to represent where questions were separated into individual screens. On the Table of Contents page, you will find a link to the survey.
  • After viewing the survey, use your browser's back arrow to return to the Table of Contents.
  • The survey had links to allow respondents to bypass inapplicable questions. While these were active links during the data collection period, they have now been disabled.
  • Because the survey was customized with the component name and information respondents provided to particular survey questions, you will see a blank, _________, where either the agency name, program name, or training location was presented, depending on the question. The component name, program name, or training location actually appeared when the survey was administered.

How to Make the Text Size Larger on Your Screen

  • You can make the text size larger (or smaller) by changing your browser setting. For example, on Internet Explorer you can go to View on the menu bar and select Text Size to choose the size you prefer.

How to Print the Results of Surveys

  • If you print the table of results you may want to set your printer to use 11x17 paper in Landscape, reduce the left and right margins, and reduce the scaling percentage.
  • You may also want to set your view to the smallest text size and print only the table.
  • For example, on Internet Explorer you can change the printer settings by going to File and select Page Setup. From within the Page Setup window, select 11x17 paper and Landscape, and enter 0.4 for the left and right margins. Also, from within the Page Setup window, you may be able to change the printer's scaling by selecting the Advanced button and, under Graphic, changing the Scaling from 100% to 75%. The numbers for the margins and scaling may vary among printers.
  • You can change the text size by going to View and selecting Text Size and Smallest.
  • You can select the table and title by clicking on the first letter of the title ("Federal"), scrolling to the last box at the bottom of the table and, while holding down the shift key, clicking in that box. You can print the selected table and title by going to File and selecting Print, selecting Selection under Page Range, and selecting Print.
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