CBP is the largest uniformed law enforcement agency in the United States, with approximately 21,400 BPAs patrolling between the nation’s ports of entry and more than 20,000 CBPOs stationed at air, land, and seaports nationwide at the end of fiscal year 2011.southwest border, there are about 5,500 CBPOs and 18,000 BPAs as of the end of fiscal year 2011. CBPOs, based within OFO, are responsible for processing immigration documentation of passengers and pedestrians and inspecting vehicles and cargo at U.S. ports of entry. BPAs are based within the USBP and are responsible for enforcing immigration laws across the territory in between the ports of entry and at checkpoints located inside the U.S. border. Together, CBPOs and BPAs are On the U.S. responsible for detecting and preventing the illegal entry of persons and contraband, including terrorists and weapons of mass destruction, across the border. U.S. citizens interested in becoming CBPOs or BPAs must successfully complete all steps of the CBP hiring process, which includes an online application, a cognitive exam, fingerprint collection, financial disclosure, a structured interview, fitness tests, medical examinations, a polygraph examination, a background investigation, and a drug test. CBP IA’s PSD manages the personnel security program by initiating and adjudicating preemployment investigations for CBP applicants, which aim to ensure that the candidates are reliable, trustworthy, and loyal to the United States, and therefore suitable for employment. In addition, CBP IA’s Credibility Assessment Division (CAD) is responsible for administering the polygraph examinations, interviewing applicants, and collecting any admissions that an applicant may reveal including past criminal behavior or misconduct. Human Resource Management is responsible for making the hiring decisions based on the final suitability determination from CBP IA (this includes PSD’s overall assessment of the polygraph examination and background investigation), as well as the applicant’s successful completion of the other steps in the hiring process. The number of CBP employees increased from 43,545 in fiscal year 2006 to 60,591 as of August 2012. During this time period, both OFO and USBP experienced a hiring surge and received increased appropriations to fund additional hiring of CBPOs and BPAs. The majority of the newly hired CBPOs and BPAs were assigned to the southwest border. In particular, during this time period, their total numbers along the southwest border increased from 15,792 to 24,057. As of fiscal year 2011, 57 percent of the CBPOs and BPA were stationed along the southwest border. Figure 1 provides additional details. Allegations against CBP employees for misconduct, corruption, or other issues can be reported through various mechanisms. CBP IA, in partnership with the Office of Professional Responsibility—an office within DHS’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—accepts allegations through the Joint Intake Center (JIC). JIC is CBP’s central clearinghouse for receiving, processing, and tracking all allegations of misconduct involving personnel and contractors employed by CBP. Staffed jointly by CBP IA and the Office of Professional Responsibility, JIC is responsible for receiving, documenting, and routing misconduct allegations to the appropriate investigative entity for review to determine whether the allegation can be substantiated. CBP employees or the general public may report allegations to JIC’s hotline by e-mail or telephone, to local CBP IA field offices, the DHS Office of Inspector General, or the other law enforcement agencies. Anonymous allegations are also received, documented, and subjected to further inquiry. According to CBP’s data, incidents of arrests of CBP employees from fiscal years 2005 through 2012 represent less than 1 percent of the entire CBP workforce per fiscal year. During this time period, 144 current or former CBP employees were arrested or indicted for corruption—the majority of which were stationed along the southwest border. In addition, there were 2,170 reported incidents of arrests for misconduct.Allegations against CBPOs and BPAs as a percentage of total on-board personnel remained relatively constant from fiscal years 2006 through 2011 and ranged from serious offenses such as facilitating drug smuggling across the border to administrative delinquencies such as losing an official badge. The majority of allegations made against OFO and USBP employees during this time period were against officers and agents stationed on the southwest U.S. border. CBP data indicate that from fiscal year 2005 through fiscal year 2012, the majority of arrests since fiscal year 2005 are related to alleged misconduct activities. A total of 144 current or former CBP employees were arrested or indicted for corruption. In addition, there were 2,170 reported incidents of arrests for misconduct. In both cases, each represents less than 1 percent of the entire CBP workforce per fiscal year. Specifically, in fiscal year 2005, out of 42,409 CBP employees, 27 were arrested or indicted for corruption. In addition, during this time period, there were 190 reported incidents of arrests for misconduct. As of August 2012, when CBP’s workforce increased to 60,591, 11 CBP employees were arrested or indicted for corruption, and there were 336 reported incidents of arrests for misconduct. CBP IA defines delinquent activity as either corruption or misconduct. Corruption involves the misuse or abuse of the employee’s position, whereas misconduct may not necessarily involve delinquent behavior that is related to the execution of official duties. CBP further categorizes the delinquent behavior into the following categories: (1) non-mission-compromising misconduct, (2) mission-related misconduct, (3) corruption, and (4) mission-compromising corruption. The first category is the only one that is unrelated to the execution of the CBP employee’s official duties or authority, and the majority of the incidents of arrests for misconduct (2,153 out of 2,170) since fiscal year 2005 fall in this category. Examples include domestic violence and driving under the influence while off duty. Table 1 provides CBP IA’s definitions of the two types of delinquent activity and examples of each category. About 65 southwest border. Our review of documentation on these cases indicates that 103 of the 144 cases were for mission-compromising corruption activities, which are the most severe offenses, such as drug or alien smuggling, bribery, and allowing illegal cargo into the United States. Forty-one of the 144 CBP employees arrested or indicted were charged with other corruption-related activities. According to CBP IA, this category is less severe than mission-compromising corruption and includes offenses such as the theft of government property and querying personal associates in a government database for purposes other than official business. Table 2 provides a breakdown of these arrests by fiscal year. Table 3 outlines the number of incidents of arrests of CBP employees for misconduct for fiscal years 2005 through 2012. Although the total number of corruption convictions (125) is less than 1 percent when compared with CBP’s workforce population by fiscal year, CBP officials stated that they are concerned about the negative impact employee corruption cases have on agencywide integrity. For example, the Acting Commissioner of CBP testified that no act of corruption within the agency can or will be tolerated and that acts of corruption compromise CBP’s ability to achieve its mission to secure America’s borders against all threats while facilitating and expediting legal travel and trade. In particular, there have been a number of cases in which individuals, known as infiltrators, pursued employment at CBP solely to engage in mission-compromising activity. For example, in 2007, a CBPO in El Paso, Texas, was arrested at her duty station at the Paso Del Norte Bridge for conspiracy to import marijuana into the United States from June 2003 to July 2007, and was later convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. OFO reported that she may have sought employment with CBP to facilitate drug smuggling. CBP officials view this case as an example of the potential impact of corruption—if the officer had succeeded in facilitating the importation of 5,000 pounds of marijuana per month, this would amount to a total of 240,000 pounds over 4 years with a retail value of $288 million dollars. In another case, a former BPA previously stationed in Comstock, Texas, was arrested in 2008 for conspiracy to possess, with intent to distribute, more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. The agent was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. CBP is also concerned about employees who may not be infiltrators, but began engaging in corruption-related activities after joining the agency. For example, CBP IA officials stated that some employees may have experienced personal hardships after being hired, such as financial challenges, which made them vulnerable to accepting bribes to engage in corrupt activity. In addition, some employees arrested for corruption had no prior disciplinary actions at the time of their arrests. According to our analysis of CBP data, from fiscal years 2006 through 2011, a total of 32,290 allegations were made against CBP employees; 90 percent (29,204) were made against CBPOs and BPAs. CBP IA categorizes allegations of misconduct or corruption by varying levels of severity. For example, allegations may range from serious offenses such as facilitating drug smuggling across the border to administrative delinquencies such as losing a badge. CBP allegations of corruption or misconduct are sorted into differing classes depending on the severity of the allegation and whether there is potential for federal prosecution. As table 4 indicates, class 1 allegations comprise the more severe allegations that could lead to federal prosecution, such as drug smuggling or bribery, with classes 2, 3, and 4 representing decreasing levels of severity. Information for management may include notifications such as reporting a lost badge or an arrest of an employee’s family member.