Federal Law Enforcement:
Survey of Federal Civilian Law Enforcement Mandatory Basic Training
GAO-07-815: Published: Aug 10, 2007. Publicly Released: Sep 10, 2007.
Additional Materials:
- Highlights Page:
- Full Report:
- Accessible Text:
- Additional Data:
Contact:
(202) 512-6510
contact@gao.gov
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov
Federal law enforcement officers (LEO) are required to complete mandatory basic training in order to exercise their law enforcement authorities. GAO was asked to identify federal mandatory law enforcement basic training programs. This report builds on GAO's prior work surveying federal civilian law enforcement components regarding their functions and authorities (see GAO-07-121, December 2006). GAO defined an LEO as an individual authorized to perform any of four functions: conduct criminal investigations, execute search warrants, make arrests, or carry firearms. In this report GAO describes (1) the mandatory basic law enforcement training that the components reported requiring their LEOs to complete and the federal law enforcement job series classifications for which basic training programs are mandatory; and (2) a breakdown of the delivery of the of basic training programs, by type of organization providing the training and location. To conduct this work, GAO administered a Web-based survey to 105 federal civilian law enforcement components. Each was requested to self-report on, required basic training programs for LEOs, the organizations conducting the training, training locations, and the job series for which programs are mandatory. GAO is not making recommendations.
Based on the responses of the 105 federal civilian law enforcement components surveyed, GAO identified 76 unique mandatory basic training programs. Among these, four programs in particular were cited by the components more often than others as mandatory for their LEOs. Of the remaining 72 unique basic training programs, each was common to just one to three components. Some of these basic training programs are required for job series classifications representing large portions of the overall LEO population. For example, newly hired employees at the Federal Bureau of Prisons encompass 159 different job series classifications. This large number of job series classifications is required to take the same two unique basic training programs. Of the 105 components surveyed, 37 components reported exclusively using the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)--the largest single provider of law enforcement training for the federal government. Another 44 components reported using a combination of FLETC and other training organizations, including their own organization, a federal or state law enforcement agency, or commercial vendor. Thirteen components reported that they did not use FLETC but instead conducted their own training programs and used their own facilities. Eleven components reported hiring LEOs who had already received basic training. A draft of this report was provided for comment to the agencies included in the survey. Their technical comments were incorporated as appropriate.
Feb 24, 2021
-
Pregnant Women in DOJ Custody:
U.S. Marshals Service and Bureau of Prisons Should Better Align Policies with National GuidelinesGAO-21-147: Published: Jan 25, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 24, 2021.
Oct 26, 2020
-
Intellectual Property:
CBP Has Taken Steps to Combat Counterfeit Goods in Small Packages but Could Streamline EnforcementGAO-20-692: Published: Sep 24, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 26, 2020.
Sep 30, 2020
-
Federal Criminal Restitution:
Department of Justice Has Ongoing Efforts to Improve Its Oversight of the Collection of Restitution and Tracking the Use of Forfeited AssetsGAO-20-676R: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020.
Sep 10, 2020
-
Federal Tactical Teams:
Characteristics, Training, Deployments, and InventoryGAO-20-710: Published: Sep 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 10, 2020.
Sep 8, 2020
-
VA Police:
Actions Needed to Improve Data Completeness and Accuracy on Use of Force Incidents at Medical CentersGAO-20-599: Published: Sep 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 8, 2020.
Aug 13, 2020
-
Anti-Money Laundering:
FinCEN Should Enhance Procedures for Implementing and Evaluating Geographic Targeting OrdersGAO-20-546: Published: Jul 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 13, 2020.
Jul 29, 2020
-
Federal Prison Industries:
Actions Needed to Evaluate Program EffectivenessGAO-20-505: Published: Jul 29, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 29, 2020.
Jul 8, 2020
-
Gun Control:
DOJ Can Further Improve Guidance on Federal Firearm Background Check RecordsGAO-20-528: Published: Jul 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 8, 2020.
Jun 22, 2020
-
Federal Prisons:
Additional Analysis Needed to Determine Whether to Issue Pepper Spray to Minimum Security PrisonsGAO-20-342: Published: Jun 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 22, 2020.
May 26, 2020
-
Bureau of Prisons:
Improved Planning Would Help BOP Evaluate and Manage Its Portfolio of Drug Education and Treatment ProgramsGAO-20-423: Published: May 26, 2020. Publicly Released: May 26, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here