Pursuant to a series of laws passed since 1989, DOD is authorized to undertake actions intended to enhance the effectiveness of domestic law enforcement agencies through direct or material support. DLA Disposition Services administers the LESO program, managing the transfer of DOD’s excess controlled and non-controlled property to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. According to DLA policy, to participate in the program, a law enforcement agency must be a federal, state, or local government agency whose primary function is the enforcement of applicable federal, state, and local laws and whose sworn compensated law enforcement officers have powers of arrest and apprehension. According to LESO program data, as of August 2016, there were over 8,600 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies participating in the program. Of these, approximately 96 percent were state and local law enforcement agencies and approximately 4 percent were federal law enforcement agencies. LESO program data also shows that during calendar years 2013 through 2015, approximately two-thirds of DOD excess controlled property items had been transferred to state and local agencies, and one-third had been transferred to federal agencies, as shown in Table 1. The data also showed that as of August 2016 the majority of the law enforcement agencies (76 percent) participating in the program have 50 or fewer full-time sworn officers, as shown in figure 1, and that approximately 30 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies active in the program had 10 or fewer sworn officers. State and local law enforcement agencies work first through their Governor-appointed state coordinator to obtain excess property through the LESO program from DLA. As specified by DLA policy, state coordinators must sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with DLA, which outlines, for example, general terms and conditions for state coordinators and state and local law enforcement agencies to provide accountability and oversight of the LESO program. Further, LESO program guidance requires state coordinators to develop a State Plan of Operation outlining how the program will be managed in their state, and each participating state or local law enforcement agency must sign the plan, attesting to the terms and conditions of the program. According to LESO officials, unlike state and local agencies, federal law enforcement agencies work directly with the LESO program office. As of December 2016, the LESO program office finalized a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that it plans to sign with participating federal agencies. According to the MOU, it will establish DLA’s authority as the owner of the program and, among other things, establish general terms and conditions. Figure 2 provides additional details on LESO program stages and processes for federal and state and local law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies submit property requests electronically—after viewing available items online or in person while at a Disposition Services’ site. According to LESO officials, they manually review all property requests forwarded from state coordinators for state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as requests submitted directly from federal agencies, for final approval or denial. LESO officials told us they look for detailed justifications, including who will use the property and how, when reviewing requests for approval. For certain items, such as aircraft, vehicles, and weapons, law enforcement agencies are required to answer additional questions and provide additional documentation, such as their training plan(s) and how the items will be secured. According to LESO officials, they follow statutory direction in U.S. Code title 10 which authorizes preference be given to property requests indicating that the use of the property will be for counterdrug, counterterrorism, and border- security activities. LESO officials also stated that a request for excess property may be denied for a variety of reasons, including if the request was not detailed enough or if the law enforcement agency has met its allowed allocation for certain property. For example, according to program documentation, for small arms, only one type is allocated for each qualified full-time or part-time officer; for HMMWVs, only one vehicle is allocated for every three officers; and for MRAPs, only one vehicle is allocated per law enforcement agency. However, according to LESO officials, most denials are because a requested item has already been awarded. When DOD declares items as excess to its needs, the property is turned into a DLA Disposition Services site and can be made available for transfer to DOD components and other eligible recipients, including approved LESO participants. According to program documentation, when an application to participate in the LESO program is approved, an Authorization Letter for Property Screening is generated and forwarded to the state coordinator or federal agency. If the approved participant is a state law enforcement agency, the state coordinator will provide the participant with the letter of authorization. The letter of authorization that includes, for example, the full name of the law enforcement agency, DOD activity address code, telephone number, address, and digital signatures, must be on the centralized file maintained by DLA prior to the arrival of the person picking up the property and be dated less than one year from the current date. The screening authorization lists individuals eligible to search, view and request property on behalf of their participating law enforcement agency, including physical on-site screening. The DLA Disposition Services’ site uses the information on this letter to contact an agency, if needed, to coordinate the direct pickup of property. Direct pickup for allocated property may be made by an individual with a valid identification and the appropriate DOD authorization form that is signed by the authorized individual listed in the screener letter. The President issued Executive Order 13688, Federal Support for Local Law Enforcement Equipment Acquisition, January 16, 2015, to better coordinate federal support for the acquisition of certain federal equipment by state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies. The Executive Order also established a Federal Interagency Law Enforcement Equipment Working Group (hereafter the Working Group). In May 2015, the Working Group issued a report that included a list of prohibited equipment not eligible for acquisition by law enforcement agencies and a list of controlled equipment identified by category of equipment that may be acquired by law enforcement agencies after submitting additional information such as a detailed justification for each requested item of controlled equipment. Further, the Working Group developed 13 programmatic and policy recommendations to improve federal equipment acquisition programs, including that the members of the Working Group form a permanent Federal Interagency Law Enforcement Equipment Working Group, calling for this permanent working group to meet regularly to support oversight and policy development functions for controlled equipment programs. DLA has taken some actions and plans additional actions to address identified weaknesses in its excess controlled property program. DLA has revised its policy and procedures, is developing additional training, and is establishing MOUs for the LESO program with participating federal law enforcement agencies. However, DLA confirmed, and our independent testing of the LESO program’s internal controls identified, deficiencies in the processes for the verification and approval of federal law enforcement applications and the transfer of controlled property. DLA has taken some steps to address identified weaknesses in its processes for transferring and monitoring its excess controlled property through revisions to its policy and procedures on the management, oversight, and accountability of the LESO program. Such revisions were made, in part, because of recommendations made by the DOD and DLA Offices of Inspector General. The DOD and DLA Offices of Inspector General conducted four audits of the LESO program between 2003 and 2013 that identified more than a dozen recommendations, such as to: develop and implement written standard operating procedures that include, for example, criteria for approval and disapproval of law enforcement agency property requests; strengthen policy and procedures on disbarring law enforcement agencies and state coordinators that do not comply with LESO program conditions; improve oversight and accountability of property; use the automated processing system for requisitioning, approving, and issuing items; and further develop procedures for the issuance, transfer, turn-in and disposal of LESO property. We found the department had taken the following actions to enhance its transfer process through revisions to policy and procedures: transitioned full management responsibility of the LESO Program to DLA Disposition Services in 2009; developed LESO Program Standard Operating Procedures in 2012 and updated them in 2013; transitioned to a new data system, Federal Excess Property Management Information System in 2013 after identifying that the old system was not capable of post-issue tracking; revised the DLA instruction that provides policy, responsibility, and procedures for DLA’s management responsibilities of the LESO program in 2014 and 2016; and revised LESO program processes in 2016 to incorporate recommendations made by the Federal Interagency Law Enforcement Equipment Working Group, such as defining executive order- controlled property or prohibiting schools K-12 from participating in the program. Additionally, according to LESO officials, they conduct Program Compliance Reviews every two years for all states and territories with state and local law enforcement agencies enrolled in the LESO program. LESO officials, in consultation with the state coordinator, select a sample of state and local law enforcement agencies for site visits to physically verify all controlled property in their possession, by serial number. We observed the LESO Program Compliance Review at numerous locations in one state. Moreover, in 2017, LESO program officials revised their program application to create two applications—one for federal law enforcement agencies and the other for state and local law enforcement agencies. The application for federal agencies requires additional information from prospective federal applicants, such as certification that their agency meets the LESO definition of a government law enforcement agency and attesting that the agency that they represent is a legitimate law enforcement agency. Likewise, the application for state and local agencies was also revised to include a similar certification of eligibility and attestation.