GAO called on FPS to implement a strategic approach to manage staffing resources based on risk management principles, goals and performance measures.
FPS agreed and said it was using the results of workload studies and analysis to better determine staffing levels, and said that would tie in with a new strategic plan.
The just-completed strategic plan will help the agency comply with a mandated staffing increase called for in fiscal 2008 appropriations language, FPS said, adding that it is also adopting an online risk assessment and management program – dubbed RAMP – that it can use to manage sites.
In response to additional GAO recommendations, the agency said it would examine responsibilities for local law enforcement response to incidents at GSA facilities, update its legacy fee methodology to more accurately reflect the cost of its services, and research new funding options.
The Federal Protective Service, which provides law enforcement services for about 9,000 GSA facilities, faces operational challenges that hamper its ability to accomplish its mission, GAO has told hearings in both the House and Senate.
After conducting site visits at seven of FPS’s 11 regions and interviewing local law enforcement and officials at FPS, GSA, and tenant agencies, GAO said actions taken by FPS might not be enough to resolve its challenges.
FPS was folded into DHS in 2003, has an annual budget of about $1 billion and 1,100 employees and oversees about 15,000 contract guards.
However, from 2004–2007 FPS was stripped of about 20 percent of its workforce, something the agency has responded to poorly – diminishing security at GSA facilities and increasing the risk of crime or terrorist attack, according to GAO-08-683.
