Homeland Security: Federal Protective Service Should Improve Human Capital Planning and Better Communicate with Tenants
Published: 2009-07-30T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The Federal Protective Service (FPS), as part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for providing security services to about 9,000 federal facilities. In recent years, FPS downsized its workforce from 1,400 to about 1,000 full-time employees. In 2008, GAO expressed concerns about the impact that downsizing had on FPS's mission, and in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 Congress mandated FPS maintain no fewer than 1,200 employees. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which (1) FPS has hired and trained new staff to address its mandated staffing levels, (2) FPS has developed a strategic human capital plan to manage its current and future workforce needs, and (3) FPS's customers are satisfied with the services it provides. To address these objectives, we reviewed relevant laws and documents, interviewed officials from FPS and other federal agencies, and conducted a generalizable survey of FPS's customers.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: FPS did not meet its fiscal year 2008 mandated deadline of increasing its staffing level to no fewer than 1,200 full-time employees by July 31, 2008. This same mandate relating to FPS's staffing was included in DHS's fiscal year 2009 appropriations act. Although FPS currently has over 1,200 employees on board, it did not meet this mandate until April 2009, because of challenges in shifting its priorities from downsizing its workforce to increasing it, inexperience working with DHS's hiring processes, and delays in the candidate screening process. Also, not all of FPS's new law enforcement security officers have completed all required training. According to FPS officials, it expects to have all new hires fully trained by September 2009. FPS does not have a strategic human capital plan to guide its current and future workforce planning efforts, including effective processes for training, retention, and staff development. Instead, FPS has developed a short-term hiring plan that does not include key human capital principles, such as determining an agency's optimum staffing needs. The lack of a human capital plan has contributed to inconsistent approaches in how FPS regions and headquarters are managing human capital activities. For example, FPS officials in some of the regions GAO visited said they implement their own procedures for managing their workforce, including processes for performance feedback, training, and mentoring. Additionally, FPS does not collect data on its workforce's knowledge, skills, and abilities. These elements are necessary for successful workforce planning activities, such as identifying and filling skill gaps and succession planning. FPS is working on developing and implementing a data management system that will provide it with these data, but this system has experienced significant delays and will not be available for use until 2011 at the earliest. On the basis of GAO's generalizable survey of FPS customers, customers had mixed views about some of the services they pay FPS to provide. Survey results showed that 58 percent were satisfied, 7 percent were dissatisfied, 18 percent were neutral, and 17 percent were not able to comment on FPS's overall services. The survey also showed that many of FPS's customers did not rely on FPS for services. For example, in emergency situations, about 82 percent of FPS's customers primarily rely on other agencies such as local law enforcement, while 18 percent rely on FPS. The survey also suggests that the roles and responsibilities of FPS and its customers are unclear, primarily because on average about one-third of FPS's customers, i.e., tenant agencies, could not comment on how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with FPS's level of communication on its services, partly because they had little to no interaction with FPS officers. Although FPS plans to implement education and outreach initiatives to improve customer service, it will face challenges because of its lack of complete and accurate contact data. Complete and accurate contact information for its customers is critical for information sharing and an essential component of any customer service initiative.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: In 2003, the Federal Protective Service (FPS), under the Homeland  Security Act of 2002, was transferred from the General Services  Administration (GSA) to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  FPS is the primary federal agency that is responsible for providing  physical security and law enforcement services to about 9,000 facilities  under the control and custody of GSA, and is funded by the security fees it  collects from the agencies it protects. FPS conducts its mission by  providing (1) physical security services—conducting threat assessments of  facilities and recommending risk-based countermeasures aimed at  preventing incidents at facilities—and (2) law enforcement services— proactively patrolling facilities, responding to incidents, conducting  criminal investigations, and exercising arrest authority. FPS is also  responsible for management and oversight of the approximately 15,000  contract security guards posted at GSA facilities. After its transfer to DHS,  FPS experienced budget shortfalls and its staff decreased by about 20  percent, from a high of about 1,400 full-time employees at the end of fiscal  year 2004, to a low of about 1,100 at the end of fiscal year 2008. To  address these budget shortfalls, FPS’s security fee has increased over 100  percent since its transfer to DHS, from 30 cents per square foot in fiscal  year 2003, to 66 cents per square foot in fiscal year 2009. In our June 2008  report, we expressed concerns about a number of changes FPS had made  since transferring to DHS. For example, we raised questions about the  additional demands FPS’s downsizing efforts would place on its  workforce. We also identified several workforce-related challenges that  FPS has faced since its transfer to DHS, including low morale among staff,  increased attrition, and the loss of institutional knowledge. We reported  that some of FPS’s customers were concerned about the quality and cost  of security provided by FPS since it transferred to DHS. In an effort to  address these challenges, Congress mandated in the Fiscal Year 2008  Consolidated Appropriations Act that by July 31, 2008, FPS maintain no  fewer than 1,200 full-time employees, including 900 in law enforcement  positions. This same mandate relating to FPS staffing level was included  in DHS’s 2009 fiscal year appropriations act. However, concerns remain  about FPS’s ability to manage its current and future workforce needs and  the impact changes to its workforce may have on the agency’s ability to  provide physical security and law enforcement services to GSA and its  other customers in the 9,000 facilities it protects.
In response to your request and in light of recent concerns about the  quality of service provided by FPS, we address three objectives:  1.  To what extent has FPS hired and trained new staff to address its  mandated staffing levels? 2.  To what extent has FPS developed a strategic human capital plan to  manage its current and future workforce needs? 3.  To what extent are FPS’s customers satisfied with the services it  provides?
To address these objectives, we reviewed relevant laws and documents  and interviewed officials from FPS, GSA, and DHS. Specifically, we  interviewed FPS headquarters officials to understand the actions FPS took  to meet the mandate, challenges in meeting the mandate, efforts to assess  its overall workforce needs, and plans for future human capital needs. We  reviewed and analyzed available FPS workforce and human capital plans  and policies and compared FPS’s efforts with Key Principles of Effective  Strategic Workforce Planning identified by GAO. We conducted site visits  to 5 of FPS’s 11 regions; while the results of these visits are not  generalizable, these 5 regions account for about 50 percent of the 9,000  facilities that FPS has responsibility for providing service. During our site  visits, we met with FPS regional law enforcement and human capital  managers as well as new and experienced law enforcement security  officers to gain an understanding of how FPS’s recent workforce changes  have affected FPS’s operations, actions each region has taken to address  these changes, and how regions determine workforce needs. We also  discussed the regions’ role in the agency’s human capital planning.
For information about the level of service FPS provides its customers, we  conducted a survey of building security committee chairpersons and  designated officials in buildings under the control and custody of GSA. We  focused on building security committee chairpersons and designated  officials, because these officials are responsible for working with FPS at  the building level to identify security issues and implement minimum  security standards for their buildings. The survey sought information  pertaining to FPS’s law enforcement and physical security services and  customers’ perspectives on the quality of FPS’s services. We surveyed a  sample of 1,398 federal officials across all 11 FPS regions and in buildings  with assigned security levels I through IV. We obtained an overall  response rate of about 55 percent and used these sample data to produce  estimates about the entire population of FPS customers. See appendix I  for a more detailed discussion of our overall scope and methodology and  appendix II for a copy of the survey and complete tabulations of the  results.
We conducted this performance audit from July 2008 through July 2009 in  accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those  standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient,  appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence  obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions  based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: As the primary federal agency that is responsible for protecting and  securing GSA facilities and federal employees and visitors across the  country, FPS has the authority to enforce federal laws and regulations  aimed at protecting federally owned and leased properties and the persons  on such property. FPS conducts its mission by providing security services  through two types of activities: (1) physical security activities— conducting threat assessments of facilities and recommending risk-based  countermeasures aimed at preventing incidents at facilities—and (2) law  enforcement activities—proactively patrolling facilities, responding to  incidents, conducting criminal investigations, and exercising arrest  authority. FPS is also responsible for management and oversight of the  approximately 15,000 contract security guards posted at GSA facilities. To  conduct its mission, FPS has 11 regional offices across the country and  maintains a workforce of both law enforcement staff, and non-law  enforcement staff. FPS’s law enforcement staff is generally composed of  three occupations—LESOs, who are also called inspectors; police officers;  and special agents—each with different roles and responsibilities. As  shown in table 1, LESOs are responsible for the majority of FPS’s duties.
FPS funds its operations through the collection of security fees charged to  FPS’s customers, that is, tenant agencies. However, during fiscal years  2003 through 2006, these fees were not sufficient to cover FPS’s operating  costs. When FPS was located in GSA, it received additional support from  the Federal Buildings Fund to cover the gap between collections and  costs.  Fiscal year 2004 was the last year that FPS had access to the  Federal Buildings Fund, and despite increases in its security fee, FPS  continued to experience a gap between its operational costs and fee  collections. To mitigate its funding shortfalls, in 2007 FPS implemented  many cost-saving measures, including restricting hiring and travel, limiting  training and overtime, suspending employee performance awards, and  reducing operating hours. FPS also took steps to reduce its staff levels  through voluntary early retirement opportunities, and some staff were  assigned on detail to other DHS offices. Also during this time, FPS did not  replace positions that were lost to attrition. In June 2008, we reported that  the funding challenges FPS faced and its cost-savings actions to address  them resulted in adverse implications for its workforce, primarily low  morale among staff and increased attrition.
To minimize the impact of its funding and operational challenges on its  ability to conduct its mission, in early 2007 FPS adopted a new strategic  approach to how it conducted its mission. Faced with the reduction of its  workforce to 950 full-time employees and the need to maintain its ability  to protect federal facilities, FPS announced the adoption of a “LESO- based” workforce model. The model was intended to make more efficient  use of its declining staffing levels by increasing focus on FPS’s physical  security duties and consolidating law enforcement activities. FPS’s goal  was to shift its law enforcement workforce composition from a mix of  about 40 percent police officers, about 50 percent LESOs, and about 10  percent special agents—its composition when it was transferred to DHS in  fiscal year 2003—to a workforce primarily composed of LESOs and some  special agents, with the police officer position being gradually eliminated.  To achieve this, FPS began eliminating its police officer position by  offering existing police officers the option of applying for LESO positions,  which incorporate physical security duties into their existing law  enforcement responsibilities. Additionally, FPS eliminated police officers  through attrition, and as police officers separated from FPS, their  positions were not replaced.
In December 2007 the fiscal year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act  was enacted; it mandated that FPS’s security fees be adjusted to ensure  that collections are “sufficient to ensure  maintains, by July 31,  2008, not fewer than 1,200 full-time equivalent staff and 900 full-time  equivalent  who, while working, are directly  engaged on a daily basis protecting and enforcing laws at Federal  buildings.” To address this mandate, FPS began a large-scale hiring effort  to bring on new LESOs by the legislated deadline. Although FPS was no  longer working toward reducing the size of its workforce, it did not  reverse its strategic direction of maintaining a LESO-based workforce.  Appropriations are presumed to be annual appropriations and applicable  to the fiscal year unless specified to the contrary. The requirement for no  fewer than 1,200 full-time-equivalent staff, including 900 full-time law  enforcement staff in DHS’s 2008 appropriations act was effective for 2008.  DHS’s appropriations act for 2009 contains the same requirement relating  to FPS’s staffing level and is effective for fiscal year 2009. The President’s  budget for fiscal year 2010 requests that a staffing level of 1,225 be  maintained in 2010; it also proposes relocating FPS from the Immigration  and Customs Enforcement (ICE) component of DHS to the National  Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) of DHS.
section_title: FPS Experienced Challenges with Hiring and Training New LESOs
subsections: section_title: Delays in FPS’s Hiring Process Affect Its Ability to Bring Staff On Board in a Timely Manner
paragraphs: While FPS is currently operating at its mandated staffing level, its hiring  process met with delays and challenges. FPS was required to have at least  1,200 full-time employees, including 900 law enforcement employees, on  board by July 31, 2008. This same requirement for FPS was included in  DHS’s fiscal year 2009 appropriations act, and FPS met this staffing level  in April 2009, with 1,239 employees on board, including 929 law  enforcement staff, by hiring 187 new LESOs. According to human capital  officials, FPS did not experience any problems recruiting for its LESO  position, receiving over 6,000 applications. However, officials told us that  FPS was not able to meet the July 31, 2008, mandate because of the  challenges related to shifting its priorities from downsizing its workforce  to increasing it to comply with the mandate, inexperience working with  DHS’s shared service center, and delays in its candidate screening process.  Since transferring to DHS, FPS has been in a period of strategic  transition—not only reducing its workforce size, but also changing its  composition to a LESO-based workforce. Faced with funding challenges,  FPS’s human capital efforts were aimed at cutting costs and reducing the  size of its workforce to a total staffing level of 950 full-time employees.  FPS was on its way to achieving this goal, and had reduced its workforce  to 1,061 employees in February 2008 when it changed course to respond to  the mandate and increase its workforce to 1,200. According to FPS, these  continual shifts affected the agency’s ability to meet the staffing level  mandated in the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
FPS’s ability to meet the mandate was also affected by its inexperience in  working with DHS’s shared service center. After transferring to DHS, the  majority of FPS’s hiring requirements are contracted out to the U.S.  Customs and Border Protection Human Resources Management Center in  Laguna Niguel, California (Laguna), which provides human resource  services to all components of ICE through DHS’s administrative shared  services program. Laguna is responsible for providing a full range of  human resource services to FPS, including processing actions related to  employee hiring, separation, benefits, and job classification. According to  officials at Laguna, there have been some challenges working with FPS;  primarily, officials told us that it is unclear what FPS’s human capital  needs are and where the agency is headed. Additionally, officials at Laguna  said that FPS changes its human resource needs on a day-to-day basis and  is constantly changing its priorities, causing Laguna to expend a lot of time  and manpower in trying to meet the agency’s needs. Additionally, officials  said the high turnover in FPS management in its headquarters office has  contributed to this lack of understanding.
Finally, FPS also experienced delays in the candidate screening process  that hampered its ability to meet the mandate. According to FPS officials,  its hiring process can take 5 to 6 months to complete; however, under the  mandate it was given 7 months to bring new staff on board; thus it was  challenged to meet this mandate. Consequently, it experienced significant  delays in screening potential candidates, particularly delays in the medical  screening component, which Laguna contracts out to a private company.  The screening process—which consists of drug testing, a background  security clearance, and a medical screening—should take approximately  30 to 60 days. FPS officials told us that delays in the medical portion of the  screening caused the process to take 90 to 100 days. According to FPS  officials, they are working with the contractors to address problems. For  example, FPS officials are working to determine if it is possible for  candidates recently separated from the military to receive a waiver for the  medical screening if they have recently undergone a military medical  examination. See figure 1 for a timeline of the FPS hiring process.
We have identified human capital management, including the hiring  process, as an area in which DHS has significant management challenges.  In our 2007 progress report on DHS’s management challenges, we found  that DHS had made limited progress in managing its human capital. With  regard to a timely hiring process, we found that while DHS has developed  a 45-day hiring model, and provided it to all of its component agencies,  DHS does not assess the component agencies against this model. The  prolonged time it takes to select and hire FPS LESOs further demonstrates  the limited progress DHS’s components have made in meeting the goals of  this model.
section_title: Some Newly Hired LESOs Are Not Fully Trained
paragraphs: FPS has experienced delays in its LESO training program. Almost 16  months after FPS began hiring new LESOs, almost half of them have not  completed the required law enforcement training and therefore are not  permitted to conduct any law enforcement components of their jobs,  including carrying firearms or exercising arrest and search authorities. Of  these 187 new LESOs, almost all—95 percent—have completed the  physical security training that is required to conduct a BSA. Conducting  BSAs is the core function of the LESO position, and BSAs are used by FPS  to determine and recommend countermeasures to protect federal  facilities. In addition to hiring new LESOs, FPS converted 105 police  officers to the LESO position, and while all police officers are already  trained in law enforcement, 25 percent of the 105 police officers FPS  promoted to LESO positions have not completed physical security  training, and therefore are not eligible to conduct BSAs or recommend  countermeasures, their key responsibilities. This training is essential to  support FPS’s new strategic direction, and in his June 2008 testimony, the  Director of FPS indicated physical security responsibilities, such as  completing BSAs, will account for 80 percent of a LESO’s duties.  According to FPS, depending on class availability, it expects to have all  new hire and converted LESOs fully trained by September 2009. According  to FPS officials, LESOs that have not completed the physical security  training are assisting experienced LESOs in completing their BSAs. During  our site visits to FPS’s regions, we were told that not having all LESOs  fully trained caused a strain on FPS’s resources, with LESOs taking on  increased workloads. We also spoke with new LESOs in two regions who  told us that while they have not received physical security training, they  were conducting BSAs with little or no oversight from senior staff.
FPS officials told us the reason training has been delayed is that it had  submitted and finalized its training schedule with the Federal Law  Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) over 1 year before it was mandated  to increase its staff numbers, and adding additional classes after this time  was a challenge because of limited space and instructors at FLETC.  Officials said that FLETC is doing its best to accommodate the number of  new hires and converts FPS is sending for training. According to FPS  officials, FLETC is holding its Physical Security Training Program once  every month back to back. Each class has a maximum of 24 students, and  in the past, at most FLETC held three Physical Security Training Programs  each year.
Moreover, FPS has taken limited steps to provide ongoing physical  security training to existing LESOs, a fact that limits the functionality of  experienced LESOs. FPS is currently in the process of developing a  biannual physical security training program to ensure that LESOs are  current in their knowledge of physical security standards and technology.  LESOs and regional officials we met with during our site visits told us they  did not feel the current level of physical security training was adequate.  According to FPS officials, the design and methodology for the new  Physical Security Refresher Training Program have been completed, and a  headquarters position dedicated to managing the agency’s training  program has been created, but the program has not been implemented and  as of July 2009 there is no expected date for implementation.
section_title: FPS’s Attrition Rate Emphasizes the Need for Ongoing Hiring and Training Programs
paragraphs: While FPS has reached the mandated staffing levels, FPS continues to  have a high attrition rate, and about 30 percent of its employees are  eligible to retire in the next 5 years. Since fiscal year 2005, it has  experienced increases in its overall attrition rate. As we previously  reported, FPS experienced funding challenges in the first few years of its  transition to DHS, and took steps to mitigate these challenges by reducing  the size of its workforce. For example, FPS offered its employees  Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, as well as detailing employees to  other DHS components. FPS’s attrition rate peaked at over 11 percent in  fiscal year 2007, and while it began declining once FPS halted its  downsizing efforts, in fiscal year 2008 it was 9 percent, which was higher  than the average rate of the federal government and ICE, but lower than  DHS’s. In addition, about 30 percent of FPS’s workforce—360  employees—are eligible to retire by 2014, a fact that when combined with  its attrition rates could place additional demands on FPS’s hiring process.  See figure 2 for a comparison of FPS’s attrition rates with those of the  federal government and DHS.
section_title: FPS Does Not Have A Strategic Human Capital Plan to Guide Its Current and Future Workforce Planning Efforts
paragraphs: FPS currently does not have a strategic human capital plan to guide its  current and future workforce planning efforts. Our work has shown that a  strategic human capital plan addresses two critical needs: It (1) aligns an  organization’s human capital program with its current and emerging  mission and programmatic goals, and (2) develops long-term strategies for  acquiring, developing, and retaining staff to achieve programmatic goals.  In 2007, FPS took steps toward developing a Workforce Transition Plan to  reflect its decision to move to a LESO-based workforce and reduce its  workforce to about 950 employees. These steps included the following:  identifying skill sets needed to transition employees, including conducting  focus groups with senior managers to determine what skills are needed in  regions and headquarters and establishing a core curriculum and a career  path for FPS occupations in categories of mission support, law  enforcement, and supervisory positions;  identifying the number of employees who meet current skill set  requirements and those who require training and type of training needed;  and    establishing a project plan to transition employees, including  determination of employees eligible for retirement; establishing strategies  for use of human capital flexibilities such as bonuses and relocation  allowances; and establishing recruitment and retention strategies.
However, in 2008, FPS discontinued this plan because the objective of the  plan—to reduce FPS staff to 950 to meet the President’s Fiscal Year 2008  Budget—was no longer relevant because of the congressional mandate to  increase its workforce to 1,200 employees. FPS subsequently identified  steps it needed to take in response to the mandate. However, we found  that these efforts do not include developing strategies for determining  agency staffing needs, identifying gaps in workforce critical skills and  competencies, developing strategies for use of human capital flexibilities,  or strategies for retention and succession planning.
Additionally, the lack of a current human capital plan has contributed to  inconsistent approaches in how FPS regions and headquarters are  managing human capital activities for the agency. FPS officials in three of  the five of the regions we visited said they implement their own strategies  for managing their workforce, including processes for performance  feedback, training, and mentoring. For example, one region we visited  developed its own operating procedures for a field training program, and  has received limited guidance from headquarters on how the program  should be conducted. Officials in this region have also taken the initiative  in several areas to develop specific guidance and provide employees with  feedback on their performance in several areas. Another region we visited  offers inspectors supplemental training in addition to required training.  This region also requires new inspectors to complete a mentoring program  in which they accompany an experienced inspector and are evaluated on  all the aspects of their job. Similarly, a third region we visited has an  informal mentoring program for the police officers that were promoted to  inspectors. Each newly promoted inspector was paired with a senior  inspector.
Additionally, we found FPS’s headquarters does not collect data on its  workforce’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Consequently, FPS cannot  determine what its optimal staffing levels should be or identify gaps in its  workforce needs and determine how to modify its workforce planning  strategies to fill these gaps. Effective workforce planning requires  consistent agencywide data on the critical skills needed to achieve current  and future programmatic goals and objectives. FPS’s human capital  activities are performed by a DHS shared service center managed by U.S.  Customs and Border Protection Personnel Systems Division in Laguna  Niguel, California. This shared service center provides FPS headquarters  with biweekly reports on FPS’s workforce statistics such as workforce  demographics, and attrition and hiring data by occupation. These reports  do not provide insight on FPS’s workforce’s knowledge, skills, and  abilities—information that is key in identifying workforce gaps and  engaging in ongoing staff development. In addition to the official data  maintained by the shared service center, each FPS region maintains its  own workforce data. Without the collection of centralized or standardized  data on its workforce, it is unclear how FPS can engage in short- and long- term strategic workforce planning. FPS’s Risk Assessment and  Management Program (RAMP) system is intended to address some of  these concerns, but this project has met with numerous delays, and  according to FPS officials, data will not be available until fiscal year 2011.  Additionally, FPS’s human capital challenges may be further exacerbated  by the proposal in the President’s 2010 budget to move FPS from ICE to  NPPD. If the move is approved, it is unclear which agency will perform the  human capital function for FPS, or how the move will affect FPS’s  operational and workforce needs.
subsections: section_title: Strategic Human Capital Planning Is Necessary for Agency Leaders to Align Personnel with Agency Needs
paragraphs: GAO has developed a model of strategic human capital planning to help  agency leaders effectively use their personnel and determine how well  they integrate human capital considerations into daily decision making  and planning for the program results they seek to achieve. Under the  principles of effective workforce planning, an agency should determine  the critical skills and competencies that will be needed to achieve current  and future programmatic results. Then the agency should develop  strategies tailored to address gaps in number, deployment, and alignment  of human capital approaches for enabling and sustaining the contributions  of all critical skills and competencies. GAO has identified five key  principles that should be addressed in an agency’s strategic human capital  planning. See table 2 for key principles and examples of how an agency  can implement these principles.
section_title: FPS’s Customers Have Mixed Views on Its Services
subsections: section_title: FPS Customers Generally Had Mixed Views about Its Law Enforcement and Physical Security Services, but Some Could Not Evaluate FPS Services
paragraphs: On the basis of our generalizable survey of building security committee  chairs and designated officials in facilities protected by FPS, we found that  FPS customers had mixed views about the law enforcement and physical  security services they paid FPS to provide. In order for FPS to carry out its  mission of protecting federal buildings and the people in those buildings,  FPS is authorized to collect security fees from the agencies it protects for  law enforcement and physical security services. In fiscal year 2008, FPS’s  customers paid approximately $187 million for basic security services,  such as preparing BSAs, responding to incidents, and providing advice and  assistance to building security committees. Our survey, which ended in  May 2009, asked FPS customers how satisfied they were with a variety of  services they pay FPS to provide. Overall, survey results showed that 58  percent were satisfied or very satisfied with FPS’s current level of service,  7 percent were dissatisfied, 18 percent were neutral, and 17 percent were  not able to comment on FPS’s current level of service. However, our  survey also showed that some of FPS’s customers could not evaluate  specific services. For example, according to our survey, an estimated 28  percent of FPS’s customers were satisfied with FPS’s response time to  emergencies at their facility, while 6 percent were dissatisfied or very  dissatisfied, 11 percent were neutral, and 55 percent indicated that they  could not comment, to some extent because there may not have been such  an incident at their facility. Additionally, our survey suggests that some of  FPS’s customers may not be satisfied with FPS’s decision to eliminate its  police officer position and move to a LESO-based workforce, since 22  percent of FPS customers thought there were too few patrols of their  facility by FPS police officers or LESOs, while no customers indicated that  there were too many, 21 percent said about right, and 57 percent were  unable to comment. (See app. II for complete questionnaire tabulations.)
Our survey also suggests that the communication between FPS and its  customers about roles and responsibilities is unclear, in part because on  average one third of FPS’s customers could not comment on how satisfied  or dissatisfied they were with FPS’s level of communication on its  services, as shown in table 3. For example, an estimated 35 percent of FPS  customers could not evaluate FPS’s level of communication about services  it can offer tenant agencies and 12 percent were dissatisfied or very  dissatisfied.
Additionally, an estimated 36 percent of FPS customers had no basis to  report on the frequency with which FPS officials attended meetings about  the security of their facility, while about 22 percent indicated that FPS  never attends and 18 percent reported rare attendance. Respondents that  provided comments on our survey indicated they could not evaluate FPS’s  services mainly because they had little to no interaction with FPS. For  example:    A respondent commented that he/she had little or no contact with FPS,  because the closest FPS office is approximately 150 miles away;  additionally this official noted that he/she was not aware of any services  provided by FPS.
A respondent in a leased facility commented that FPS has very limited  resources and the resources that are available are assigned to the primary  federally owned building in the region.
A respondent commented that during his/her tenure of 12 years, this  official remembered only one visit from an FPS officer.
With the exception of meetings to discuss BSA reports, which should  occur at least every 2 to 4 years, depending on the security level of the  facility, according to FPS officials, FPS does not have policies regarding  the frequency with which FPS LESOs should visit or patrol a customer’s  facility. However, according to our survey, an estimated 12 percent of  FPS customers indicated that FPS had not conducted a BSA within the  past 5 years and about 24 percent did not know if one had been conducted,  and of those customers who indicated a BSA had been conducted, not all  of them were briefed on the results.
section_title: Many FPS Customers Do Not Rely on FPS for Services, and Some Were Not Fully Aware of the Services It Provides
paragraphs: Although FPS and GSA have an agreement that outlines the services FPS  will provide customers in GSA facilities, some customers were not aware  of the services FPS provides and the fees that they paid for such services.  For instance, a customer in a federally owned building in a remote  location did not know that FPS provided 24-hour alarm-monitoring  services, because FPS had not visited the office in over 2 years; as a result  the customer purchased an alarm system that was not compatible with  FPS’s monitoring system. Another customer we spoke to in leased  facilities told us that he/she had less of a need for FPS, because he/she was  in a leased facility and relied on either law enforcement officers or  physical security specialists from his/her own agency. When we followed  up with 10 customers who could not comment on FPS’s services, we found  that 6 of the 10 customers were unaware of the fees they paid FPS, and 4  of the 10 reported that FPS does not provide their facility services. For  example, one customer we spoke to told us that she did not know what  FPS’s role was with respect to the security of her facility and did not  realize that her agency paid FPS a security fee. GSA officials also told us  that they have received complaints from customers that they do not know  what services they were getting for the basic security fees they paid FPS.  For instance, a customer at a large government-owned complex was not  satisfied with FPS’s security recommendation to add security guard posts  at the facility for a fee of up to $300,000 in addition to the approximately  $800,000 in basic security fees the customer was already paying FPS  annually, because the customer reported never seeing FPS officers as part  of the basic security fees they paid, according to a GSA official.
In addition to our survey findings about the extent customers relied on  FPS for services, others have found that while FPS is the primary federal  agency responsible for protecting GSA facilities, federal agencies were  taking steps to meet their security needs using other sources. GSA officials  told us that some federal agencies have not been satisfied with FPS’s  building security assessments and have started conducting their own  assessments. A few agencies have also requested delegations of authority  for their buildings from FPS, including the National Archives and Records  Administration and the Office of Personnel Management, according to  GSA. Specifically, although the U.S. Marshals Service has delegated  authority for building security of federal courthouses, according to  officials from the Marshals Service, it started a perimeter security pilot  program in October 2008 for courthouses in six cities, because of concerns  with the quality of service provided by FPS contract guards at federal  courthouses. Additionally, a 2006 study by ICE found that federal agencies  were actively seeking delegations of authority because of increased  overhead costs and agencies wanted more control over the security within  their buildings. However, even with delegations of authority for security  from FPS, agencies are still expected to pay FPS’s fee for basic security  services. Moreover, the Office of Management and Budget’s 2007  assessment of FPS found that the services provided by FPS were  redundant and duplicative of other federal efforts, because many federal  agencies—including the U.S. Marshals Court Security, Secret Service, and  the Capitol Police—had their own security offices.
section_title: GSA Has Not Been Satisfied with FPS’s Performance
paragraphs: GSA has not been satisfied with the level of service FPS has provided and  expressed some concerns about its performance since it transferred to  DHS. As GSA owns and leases over 9,000 facilities FPS protects, GSA  officials told us that they have a vested interest in the security of these  facilities. According to GSA officials, FPS has not been able to provide the  level of service GSA expects based on the existing memorandum of  agreement between the two agencies. For example, GSA officials said FPS  has not been responsive and timely in providing assessments for new  leases, a fact that delayed negotiations and procurement of space for  tenant agencies. According to FPS, it does not consistently receive  notification of pre-lease assessments from GSA, and although FPS is  working on developing an interface as part of RAMP to ensure that  information is received and appropriately routed for action, this program  has been delayed. GSA officials were also concerned about the lack of  consistency in the BSA process. Specifically, GSA officials told us that the  quality of a BSA can vary depending on the LESO conducting the  assessment.
While FPS and GSA have taken steps to improve information sharing,  communication and coordination continue to be a challenge for them. As  we recently reported, at the national level, FPS and GSA have established  some formal channels for sharing information such as holding biweekly  meetings, serving on working groups focused on security, and forming a  joint Executive Advisory Council, which provides a vehicle for FPS, GSA,  and customers to work together to identify common problems and devise  solutions. However, GSA officials have been frustrated with FPS’s level  of communication. Specifically, these officials said that although the  frequency of communication has increased, meetings with FPS are not  productive because FPS does not contribute to planning the discussions,  bringing up issues, or following up on discussion items as promised.  Additionally, while FPS’s Director views GSA as a partner, GSA officials  said communication with FPS staff at levels below senior management has  remained difficult and unchanged. Furthermore, FPS and GSA have not  been able to reach an agreement about revisions to their current  agreement, which according to GSA officials, does not include  requirements regarding communication and measures that ensure the  needs of customers are met.
section_title: FPS Does Not Have Complete and Accurate Customer Contact Data to Increase Customer Awareness about Services
paragraphs: Although FPS is responsible for the protection of over 9,000 facilities  owned and leased by GSA, it does not have complete and accurate contact  data for the customers in these facilities who are responsible for working  with FPS to identify security issues and implement security standards for  their facility, typically the building security committee chair or a  designated official. During the course of our review, we found that  approximately 53 percent of the e-mail addresses and 27 percent of the  telephone numbers for designated points of contacts were missing from  FPS’s contact database. Additionally, while FPS was able to provide us a  sufficient amount of contact information to conduct our survey, some of  the customer data we received for our survey sample were either outdated  or incorrect. For example, approximately 18 percent of the survey  notification e-mails we sent to customers in our sample were returned as  undeliverable. When we attempted to obtain correct e-mail addresses, we  found that some of the contacts FPS provided had retired or were no  longer with the agency. In some instances, we found that the e-mail  address FPS provided was incorrect, because of human errors such as the  misspelling of the customer’s name. Additionally, our follow-up calls to  over 600 sample customers to check on the status of the survey found that  FPS did not have the correct telephone numbers for about one-third of  these customers, and more than 100 customers provided us with updated  contact information.
While FPS acknowledges that it needs to improve customer service and  has developed some initiatives to increase customer education and  outreach, it will continue to face challenges implementing these initiatives  without complete and accurate customer contact information. Specifically,  one of FPS’s three guiding principles in its strategic plan is to foster  coordination and information sharing with stakeholders and strive to  anticipate stakeholder needs to ensure it is providing the highest level of  service and has taken steps to achieve this goal. For instance, in 2007, FPS  conducted four focus group sessions to solicit customer input, but this  effort was limited to 4 of 11 FPS regions, with a total of 22 customers  participating in the discussion. Additionally, FPS developed and  distributed four stakeholder newsletters as a result of the focus group  sessions. According to FPS, the newsletter was distributed to members of  FPS and GSA’s Executive Advisory Council as well as to 201 other  director-level officials from various federal agencies. FPS’s marketing and  communications strategy identifies initiatives focused on improving  customer service. For example, FPS plans to administer its own customer  satisfaction survey with assistance from GSA. FPS’s RAMP system is also  expected to help improve customer service and allow LESOs to be more  customer focused. In particular, RAMP will include a customer relations  module that will allow FPS LESOs to better manage their relationship with  customers by enabling them to input and access customer information  such as building contacts and preferences for meeting times. However, it  will be difficult for FPS to implement these or any customer service  initiatives before taking steps to ensure it has complete and accurate  contact information for all the facilities it protects. Furthermore, our prior  work has shown that effective security requires people to work together to  implement policies, processes, and procedures. Therefore without  existing information to contact building security committees or officials  responsible for security issues, FPS cannot effectively work with  customers to ensure federal buildings are secure by communicating  critical policies or emergency information such as threats to facilities.
section_title: Conclusion
paragraphs: In recent years FPS’s human capital efforts have primarily focused on  downsizing its workforce and reducing costs. In December 2007, FPS’s  funding challenges were mitigated and it began increasing its workforce to  meet a mandated deadline. While FPS’s short-term hiring efforts met with  some success, because of its attrition rates and number of employees  eligible to retire in 5 years, FPS needs to continue to focus on improving  its hiring and training processes. We have identified human capital  management as a high-risk issue throughout the federal government, and  particularly within DHS. FPS’s hiring challenges further serve as an  example of the importance of improving these processes. Without a long- term strategy for managing its current and future workforce needs,  including effective processes for hiring, training, and staff development,  FPS will be challenged to align its personnel with its programmatic goals.  The President’s 2010 budget proposes to transfer FPS from ICE to DHS’s  National Protection and Programs Directorate and presents FPS with a  prime opportunity to take the initial steps required to develop a long-term  strategic approach to managing its workforce. However, until FPS begins  collecting data on its workforce’s knowledge, skills, and abilities, FPS will  not be able to start and complete this process.
While FPS customers paid about $187 million dollars in fiscal year 2008 for  law enforcement and physical security services, and given the fact that our  survey showed some customers are unaware of or do not use the services  they are paying for, it is particularly important that FPS enhance its  interaction with its customers. FPS acknowledges the need for  improvement in its customer service, and has taken some initial steps  toward improvement. Until benefits of these actions are realized by  customers—something that cannot occur until FPS collects complete and  accurate contact data for the facilities it provides service to, and  establishes a process for reaching out to and educating customers on the  services they should be receiving—customers will continue to raise  questions about the quality of service they are receiving.
section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: To facilitate effective strategic management of its workforce, we  recommend that the Secretary of Homeland Security direct the Director of  FPS to take the following actions:  improve how FPS headquarters collects data on its workforce’s  knowledge, skills, and abilities to help it better manage and understand  current and future workforce needs, and    use these data in the development and implementation of a long-term  strategic human capital plan that addresses key principles for effective  strategic workforce planning, including establishing programs, policies,  and practices that will enable the agency to recruit, develop, and retain a  qualified workforce.
To improve service to all of its customers, FPS should    collect and maintain an accurate and comprehensive list of all facility- designated points of contact, as well as a system for regularly updating  this list, and    develop and implement a program for education and outreach to all  customers to ensure they are aware of the current roles, responsibilities,  and services provided by FPS.
section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: We provided a draft of this report to DHS and GSA for review and  comment. DHS concurred with the report’s findings and  recommendations, and provided us with technical comments. GSA had no  comment.  DHS’s comments can be found in appendix III.
We are sending copies of this report to appropriate committees, the Secretary  of Homeland Security, and other interested parties. In addition, the report will  be available at no charge on GAO’s Web site at http//www.gao.gov. If you or  your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202)  512-2834 or goldsteinm@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of  Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of  this report. GAO staff who made major contributions to this report are listed  in appendix IV.
section_title: Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology
paragraphs: This report examines the workforce and human capital processes and  planning efforts of the Federal Protective Service (FPS). Specifically, our  objectives were to provide information (1) on the extent that FPS has  hired and trained new staff to address its mandated staffing levels, (2) on  the extent that FPS has developed a strategic human capital plan to  manage its current and future workforce needs, and (3) on the satisfaction  of FPS’s customers with its services. Our work was initially designed to  address congressional concerns about FPS’s staffing composition and  level since it transferred to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),  and its human capital polices and procedures for hiring and retaining a  qualified workforce. Since this work was requested, DHS’s 2008 and 2009  appropriations acts mandated FPS to ensure fee collections were  sufficient to maintain no fewer than 1,200 full-time equivalents, including  900 law enforcement positions. We also reported that some tenant  agencies and stakeholders were concerned about the quality and cost of  security provided by FPS since it transferred to DHS. Our findings raised  questions about equity in which FPS has been providing services to  customers across the country in facilities with different security needs. In  light of these events and our recent findings, we expanded the focus of our  review to include an assessment of FPS’s efforts to meet the congressional  mandate, steps it has taken to address customer concerns, and FPS’s  customer satisfaction with its services.
To respond to the overall objectives of this report, we interviewed officials  from FPS, DHS, and the General Services Administration (GSA). We also  reviewed relevant laws, and FPS, DHS, and GAO documents related to  workforce planning and human capital management. We conducted site  visits at 5 of FPS’s 11 regional offices; while the results of these visits are  not generalizable, these 5 site visits accounted for about 50 percent of the  9,000 facilities FPS is responsible for providing service. During our site  visits, we met with FPS regional law enforcement and human capital  managers as well as new and experienced law enforcement security  officers (LESO) to gain an understanding of how FPS’s recent workforce  changes have affected FPS’s operations, actions each regional office has  taken to address these effects, and how regional offices determine  workforce needs. We also discussed the regions’ role in the agency’s  human capital planning.
To assess the extent to which FPS is fully operational and has met staffing  levels required by Congress, we interviewed officials in FPS’s headquarters  and officials from DHS Customs and Border Protection Human Resources  Management Center in Laguna Niguel, California (Laguna), who were  responsible for managing, overseeing, and implementing personnel actions  for FPS, to understand the actions FPS took, and challenges faced, to meet  the mandate. We also reviewed and analyzed FPS workforce data, such as  hiring, attrition, separation, and retirement eligibility, by using the Office  of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Central Personnel Data File (CPDF).  We also identify trends in attrition data for FPS employees from fiscal  years 2005 through 2008 and compared that information with that of the  rest of the federal government and DHS during the same time period. To  assess the reliability of OPM’s CPDF, we reviewed GAO’s prior data  reliability work on CPDF. We also requested attrition and other  workforce data from Laguna, which administers FPS’s personnel a to determine the extent to which CPDF data matched the agency’s data .  When we compared the CPDF data with the data provided by Laguna on  FPS personnel, we found that data provided by Laguna were sufficiently  similar to the CPDF data and concluded that the CPDF data were  sufficiently reliable for the purposes of our review. However, we did not  independently verify the workforce data we received from Laguna.
To calculate the attrition rates for each fiscal year, we divided the total  number of separations from each agency or DHS component by the  average of the number of employees in the CPDF at the beginning of the  fiscal year plus the number at the end of the fiscal year. To place the  overall attrition rates for FPS in context, we compared FPS’s rates with  those for federal employees in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement  (ICE) a component agency within DHS, DHS as a whole, and the rest of  government. For the purposes of this report, DHS’s attrition rates were  calculated omitting ICE’s attrition rate (including that for FPS), and ICE’s  attrition rates were calculated omitting FPS’s attrition.
To determine the extent to which FPS has developed a plan to manage its  current and future workforce needs, we reviewed and analyzed FPS and  ICE documents related to human capital planning, vacancies for critical  positions, and workforce models. We interviewed FPS officials regarding  efforts to (1) develop and implement a long-term strategic human capital  plan, (2) identify and fill critical vacancies, (3) and analyze current and  future workforce needs. We then compared FPS’s efforts with Key  Principles of Effective Strategic Workforce Planning identified by GAO.
To assess FPS’s customer satisfaction with its services, we reviewed the  existing memorandum of agreement between DHS and GSA, which  outlines the services FPS provides GSA and other federal customers in  GSA-controlled buildings. We also met with GSA officials in its central and  regional offices to determine their level of satisfaction with FPS’s services  and specific actions FPS and GSA have taken to ensure effective  communication and coordination. Additionally, we reviewed FPS  documents related to customer communication and outreach.
In addition, we conducted a Web-based survey of FPS customers in GSA- owned and leased buildings. For the purpose of our survey, we defined  FPS customers as building security committee chairpersons and  designated officials. We focused on building security committee  chairpersons and designated officials, because these officials are  responsible for working with FPS to identify security issues and  implement minimum security standards for their buildings. The survey  sought information pertaining to FPS’s law enforcement and physical  security services, customers’ perspectives on the level of service FPS has  provided, and observed changes in services over the past 5 years.
To identify the appropriate officials to respond to the survey, we  constructed our population of FPS customers in GSA-owned and leased  facilities from GSA’s facilities database as of October 2008, an action that  resulted in over 9,000 GSA-controlled facilities, and matched customer  contact information from FPS’s database using GSA-assigned building  numbers. We excluded about 670 facilities with data errors or anomalies  pertaining to the security level of the facility as well as security level V  facilities, because FPS does not have responsibility for protecting any level  V buildings. On the basis of our discussions with GSA officials about the  types of facilities in their inventory, we also excluded approximately 1,900  facilities that generally had either (1) few to no occupants; (2) limited use;  or (3) no need for public access, such as warehouses, storage, and parking  facilities, and this resulted in a study population of about 6,422 facilities.  We selected a stratified random sample of 1,398 facilities from this study  population where the strata were defined by region. Table 4 summarizes  the sample and sample disposition for each of the strata.
As summarized in table 4, we received responses from customers at 760 of  the selected facilities (26 of which were out of scope, leaving 734  respondents belonging to our study population), for an overall weighted  response rate of approximately 55 percent.
We attributed this response rate as mainly due to outdated or inaccurate  FPS contact data. Our initial survey notification e-mail to customers in our  sample of 1,398 customers resulted in approximately 18 percent  undeliverable e-mails. Our attempts to obtain e-mail addresses for these  customers showed that FPS’s data were outdated and inaccurate, because  some customers had retired or left the agency. In addition, when we  attempted to contact customers to encourage their participation in our  survey, we found that FPS did not have the correct telephone numbers for  over 200 of the 683 customers that did not respond to our survey. In  addition to examining the response rates by sampling strata, we also  examined the weighted response rates for other subgroups of the  population and did not find wide variations in response rate by a building’s  security level, whether or not it was leased, or whether it was a single or  multitenant building.
We used the information gathered in this survey to calculate estimates  about the entire study population of FPS customers in GSA-owned and  leased buildings. Because we followed a probability procedure based on  random selections, our sample is only one of a large number of samples  that we might have drawn. Since each sample could have provided  different estimates, we express our confidence in the precision of our  particular sample’s results as a 95 percent confidence interval. This is the  interval that would contain the actual population value for 95 percent of  the samples we could have drawn. As a result, we are 95 percent confident  that each of the confidence intervals in this report will include the true  values in the study population. All percentage estimates from this survey  have 95 percent confidence intervals of within plus or minus 5 percentage  points of the estimated percentage, unless otherwise noted.
In addition to the reported sampling errors, the practical difficulties of  conducting any survey may introduce other types of errors, commonly  referred to as nonsampling errors. For example, differences in how a  particular question is interpreted, the sources of information available to  respondents, or the types of people who do not respond can introduce  unwanted variability into the survey results. We included steps in both the  data collection and data analysis stages for the purpose of minimizing such  nonsampling errors. For example, we met with security officials from GSA  who were knowledgeable about the roles and responsibilities of FPS and  building security committees to gain an understanding of the types of  services FPS should be providing customers and to discuss the feasibility  of surveying customers in different types of buildings (i.e., leased versus  government owned). We also pretested the questionnaire with five  building security chairs to ensure the questions were consistently  interpreted and understandable.
We also corresponded with over 100 customers who contacted us to  provide updated contact information. During these conversations, we  discussed the relationship between FPS and building security  committees/designated officials, including FPS’s roles and responsibilities.  In addition, we also followed up with 10 more customers who had no basis  to judge FPS’s overall level of service to gain an understanding of their  responses to our survey questions and to gather information on aspects of  FPS’s awareness and outreach efforts. Specifically, we asked them about  the types of information they receive from FPS about changes to its  services and fee structure as well as actions FPS has taken to solicit their  input. A copy of the survey questions and a complete tabulation of the  results can be found in appendix II.
section_title: Appendix II: Survey of Federal Protective Service Customers
paragraphs: The questions we asked in our survey on FPS’s services are shown below,  and the percentages in parentheses indicate the proportion of respondents  that chose that particular answer. Unless otherwise noted, all percentages  shown are survey estimates that have 95 percent confidence intervals of  within plus or minus 5 percentage points of the estimate itself.
subsections: section_title: Background Information
paragraphs: Please answer all questions based your experience with the security at  , with building number .  If you normally seek advice or support from Security/Law  Enforcement/Physical Security Specialists to fulfill your duties as the  Building Security Committee Chairperson or Designated Official, please  feel free to seek their input to respond to this survey.  1.  What agency do you work for?  2.  Which personnel function best describes your primary position  within your agency? (Select one.)  1. Security personnel (12%)  2. Human resources personnel (0%)  3. Finance personnel (1%)  4. Management (70%)  5. Other (17%)
If you answered “Other” above, please specify:  3.  How long have you been the Building Security Committee  Chairperson/Designated Official for _____? (Select one.)  1. Less than a year (13%)  2. More than 1, but less than 2 years (12%)  3. More than 2, but less than 5 years (32%)  4. 5 or more years (44%)  4.  What is the Department of Justice assigned security level at  _____? Please indicate the security level at _____ under the  1995 Department of Justice standards, even if the facility has  been re-assigned a new security level under the 2008  Interagency Security Committee Standards for Facility  Security Level Determinations For Federal Facilities  (Select one.)  1. Level I (6%)  2. Level II (22%)  3. Level III (10%)  4. Level IV (10%  5. Level V (1%)  6. Do not know (50%)  5.  Is _____ a government owned or a leased facility? (Select one.)  1. Government owned facility (19%)  2. Leased facility (80%)  3. Do not know (1%)  6.  Is _____ a single or multi-tenant agency facility? (Select one.)  1. Single tenant (34%)  2. Multi-tenant (65%)  3. Do not know (1%)  7.  Does your agency have delegated authority for any of the  following security services? (Please check all that apply.)
1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.
Checked Not Checked 87% 90% 90% 82% 94% 61% 7.
If you answered “Other” above, please specify:  Law Enforcement and Physical Security Providers  8.  What law enforcement agency do you consider the primary  provider of law enforcement services that require an immediate  response to an emergency, such as responding to violent crimes  and life threatening incidents, at _____? (Select one.)  1. Federal Protective Service (uniformed police officers and   inspectors) (18%)  2. State law enforcement agency (3%)  3. Local law enforcement agency (66%)  4. Other (13%)
If you answered “Other” above, please specify:  9.  What law enforcement agency do you consider the primary  provider of law enforcement services that do not require an  immediate response such as enforcing laws and regulations at  _____? (Select one.)  1. Federal Protective Service (uniformed police officers and    inspectors) (49%)  2. State law enforcement agency (5%)  3. Local law enforcement agency (36%)  4. Other (11%)
If you answered “Other” above, please specify:  10. What agency/organization do you consider the primary provider  of physical security such as an on-site evaluation and analysis  of security at _____? (Select one.)  1. Federal Protective Service (uniformed police officers and  inspectors) (48%)  2. General Services Administration, Building Security & Policy Division  (12%)  3. My agency’s own internal office (29%)  4. Other (11%)
Checked Not checked 68%32% police officers and inspectors)   2.  General Services Administration, Building  3.  My agency’s own internal office   4.  Other  If you answered “Other” above, please specify:  12. FPS Provided Private Security Guard Service  The following questions are about any service provided by private  security guards stationed at your facility that are obtained through a  contractual agreement with FPS. If there are no contract security  guards provided by FPS at _____, answer NO to question 12 and  skip to the next section.  13. Does the Federal Protective Service (FPS) provide private  security guards at _____? (Select one.)  1. Yes (36%)  2. No - Skip to question 14. (61%)  3. Do not know - Skip to question 14. (3%)  14. How satisfied are you with the service provided by the security  guard(s) at _____? (Select one.)  1. Very satisfied (42%)  2. Satisfied (45%)  3. Neutral (9%)  4. Dissatisfied (3%)  5. Very dissatisfied (0%)  6. No basis to judge/Not applicable (1%)
The following questions are about the services provided by Federal  Protective Service (FPS) police officers and inspectors.  1.  Overall, how satisfied are you with the current level of service  provided by the FPS? (Select one.)  1. Very satisfied (25%)  2. Satisfied (34%)  3. Neutral (18%)  4. Dissatisfied (5%)  5. Very dissatisfied (2%)  6. No basis to judge/Not applicable (17%)  15. In your opinion, how has the quality of the following FPS basic  security services changed over the past 5-years? (Select one for  each row.)  a. Law enforcement services that require an immediate  response to emergencies such as responding to crimes and  incidents  Greatly improved (3%)  Improved (10%)  Stayed about the same (37%)  Declined (4%)  Greatly declined (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (45%)  b. Other law enforcement services such as patrolling the facility  and enforcing federal laws and regulations  Greatly improved (2%)  Improved (9%)  Stayed about the same (36%)  Declined (5%)  Greatly declined (3%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (45%)
Greatly improved (3%)  Improved (18%)  Stayed about the same (44%)  Declined (4%)  Greatly declined (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (29%)  d. Assistance with security plans, such as Occupant Emergency  Plans (OEP) and Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP)
Greatly improved (2%)  Improved (12%)  Stayed about the same (33%)  Declined (5%)  Greatly declined (3%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (45%)  16. In your opinion, how has the quality of the following FPS  building specific services changed over the past 5-years? (Select  one for each row.)  a. Management of security guards - acquisition and monitoring  of guards from a private company contracted by FPS for  security services  Greatly improved (3%)  Improved (9%)  Stayed about the same (24%)  Declined (4%)  Greatly declined (1%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (58%)  b. Installing, operating, maintaining, and/or repairing security  equipment, such as x-ray machines, closed-circuit televisions  and cameras, and alarm systems  Greatly improved (2%)  Improved (7%)  Stayed about the same (17%)  Declined (4%)  Greatly declined (4%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (66%)  c. Consultation on security fixtures, such as vehicular barriers,  gates, locks, parking lot fencing, and guard booths  Greatly improved (2%)  Improved (8%)  Stayed about the same (22%)  Declined (5%)  Greatly declined (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (62%)  17. How often does FPS attend meetings regarding the security at  _____, including meetings about Building Security Assessments  and countermeasures? (Select one.)  1. Always (11%)  2. Sometimes (13%)  3. Rarely (18%)  4. Never (22%)  5. No basis to judge/Not applicable (36%)  18. How satisfied are you with FPS police officers’ or inspectors’  current ability to perform the following activities? (Select one for  each row.)  a. Respond to incidents at your facility  Very satisfied (11%)  Satisfied (29%)  Neutral (12%)  Dissatisfied (6%)  Very dissatisfied (3%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (39%)  b. Patrol your facility  Very satisfied (6%)  Satisfied (18%)  Neutral (15%)  Dissatisfied (6%)  Very dissatisfied (5%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (50%)  c. Provide crime prevention and security trainings for tenant  Very satisfied (7%)  Satisfied (17%)  Neutral (17%)  Dissatisfied (6%)  Very dissatisfied (4%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (49%)  19. Over the past 5-years, how has FPS police officers’ or  inspectors’ ability to perform to the following activities  changed? (Select one for each row.)  a. Respond to incidents at your facility  Greatly increased (3%)  Increased (8%)  Stayed about the same (36%)  Decreased (4%)  Greatly decreased (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (47%)  b. Patrol your facility  Greatly increased (2%)  Increased (6%)  Stayed about the same (27%)  Decreased (6%)  Greatly decreased (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (57%)  c. Provide crime prevention and security trainings for tenant  Greatly increased (3%)  Increased (7%)  Stayed about the same (27%)  Decreased (5%)  Greatly decreased (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (56%)  20. How satisfied are you with FPS’s current level of  communication with respect to the following? (Select one for each  row.)  a. Services FPS can offer tenant agencies, such as guidance on  security issues and crime prevention training  Very satisfied (7%)  Satisfied (26%)  Neutral (20%)  Dissatisfied (9%)  Very dissatisfied (4%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (35%)  b. Information related Building Security Assessments and  Very satisfied (8%)  Satisfied (30%)  Neutral (21%)  Dissatisfied (8%)  Very dissatisfied (3%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (30%)  c. Threats to your facility  Very satisfied (8%)  Satisfied (28%)  Neutral (19%)  Dissatisfied (7%)  Very dissatisfied (3%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (35%)  d. Security related laws, regulations, and guidance  Very satisfied (6%)  Satisfied (25%)  Neutral (23%)  Dissatisfied (6%)  Very dissatisfied (3%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (37%) e. Information related to the security guards at your facility  Very satisfied (6%)  Satisfied (19%)  Neutral (17%)  Dissatisfied (6%)  Very dissatisfied (3%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (50%)
Very satisfied (7%)  Satisfied (31%)  Neutral (24%)  Dissatisfied (6%)  Very dissatisfied (3%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (29%) 21. Over the past 5-years, how has the level of communication  with FPS changed with respect to the following? (Select one for  each row.)  a. Services FPS can offer tenant agencies, such as guidance on  security issues and crime prevention training  Greatly increased (3%)  Increased (14%)  Stayed about the same (34%)  Decreased (8%)  Greatly decreased (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (39%)  b. Information related Building Security Assessments and  Greatly increased (3%)  Increased (16%)
Stayed about the same (36%)  Decreased (7%)  Greatly decreased (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (37%) c. Threats to your facility  Greatly increased (3%)  Increased (10%)  Stayed about the same (38%)  Decreased (5%)  Greatly decreased (1%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (43%) d. Security related laws, regulations, and guidance  Greatly increased (2%)  Increased (9%)  Stayed about the same (38%)  Decreased (6%)  Greatly decreased (1%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (44%) e. Information related to the security guards at your facility  Greatly increased (2%)  Increased (8%)  Stayed about the same (30%)  Decreased (5%)  Greatly decreased (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (53%)
Greatly increased (3%)  Increased (13%)  Stayed about the same (39%)  Decreased (5%)  Greatly decreased (1%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (38%)  22. Based on your experience, what, if any, were the main actions  FPS took over the last 5-years that contributed to the change in  quality of service during this period?
Checked  Not checked 65%35%  64%36%  89%11%  87%13%  29. For the most recent BSA conducted at _____, was the designated  official/BSC Chairperson interviewed by the FPS inspector  about security concerns or security posture for your facility?  (Select one.)  1. Yes (83%)  2. No (9%)  3. No basis to judge/Not applicable (8%)  30. For the most recent BSA conducted at _____, how satisfied were  you with the level of interaction you had with FPS on the BSA?  (Select one.)  1. Very satisfied (37%)  2. Satisfied (38%)  3. Neutral (15%)  4. Dissatisfied (3%)  5. Very dissatisfied (2%)  6. No basis to judge/Not applicable (5%)  31. Thinking back to the most recent BSA conducted by FPS at  _____, were you/your BSC briefed by FPS on the BSA results?  (Select one.)  1. Yes (82%)  2. No - Skip to question 34. (18%)  32. Thinking back to the most recent presentation of BSA results  by FPS at _____, how satisfied were you with the FPS  inspector’s overall presentation of the BSA results and  recommendations? (Select one.)  1. Very satisfied (40%)  2. Satisfied (44%)  3. Neutral (12%)  4. Dissatisfied (2%)  5. Very dissatisfied (1%)  6. No basis to judge/Not applicable (1%) 33. Thinking back to the most recent presentation of BSA results  by FPS at _____, how strongly do you agree or disagree with  each of the following statements: (Select one for each row.)  a. The FPS inspector was knowledgeable about physical  security standards, regulations, and guidelines.
Strongly agree (39%)  Agree (49%)  Neither agree nor disagree (7%)  Disagree (1%)  Strongly disagree (0%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (4%)  b. The FPS inspector provided useful information on the BSA  process, including information about threats to the facility  and how these threats are tied to the recommended  countermeasures.
Strongly agree (30%)  Agree (43%)  Neither agree nor disagree (15%)  Disagree (4%)  Strongly disagree (1%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (7%) c. The FPS inspector provided useful information on various  security countermeasures, including alternatives to  recommended countermeasures.
Strongly agree (30%)  Agree (39%)  Neither agree nor disagree (16%)  Disagree (5%)  Strongly disagree (1%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (8%) d. The FPS inspector provided cost estimates for various  security countermeasures.
Strongly agree (12%)  Agree (21%)  Neither agree nor disagree (17%)  Disagree (11%)  Strongly disagree (3%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (35%)  e. The FPS inspector took into consideration the budget  cycle(s) of tenant agency(s).
Strongly agree (8%)  Agree (18%)  Neither agree nor disagree (25%)  Disagree (6%)  Strongly disagree (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (40%)  f. The FPS inspector sufficiently responded to questions.
Strongly agree (32%)  Agree (48%)  Neither agree nor disagree (10%)  Disagree (1%)  Strongly disagree (2%)  No basis to judge/Not applicable (7%) 34. Thinking back to the most recent presentation of BSA results  by FPS at __________, to what extent did FPS prioritize  recommended security countermeasures?  35. If you have any comments that on the BSA process or would  like to expand on your responses to questions Q26-34, please  enter them in the space provided below  36. If you have completed the survey, please check the  “Completed” circle below. Clicking “Completed” lets us know  that you are finished and that you want us to use your answers.  Your answers will not be used unless you have selected the  Completed” option to this question. (Select one.)  1. Completed  2. Not completed  If you would like to view and print your completed survey, continue to the  next screen. Otherwise click on the Exit button below to exit the survey  and send your responses to GAO’s server.
Thank you!
section_title: Appendix III: Comments from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
section_title: Appendix IV: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Tammy Conquest, Assistant  Director; Tida Barakat; Brandon Haller; Delwen Jones; Steven Lozano;  Susan Michal-Smith; Josh Ormond; Mark Ramage; Kelly Rubin; Lacy Vong;  and Greg Wilmoth made key contributions to this report.