The Federal Protective Service mismanaged its vehicle fleet and potentially missed opportunities to save more than $2.5 million in 2014, according to a report by the DHS IG’s office.
It said that leasing expenses, mostly paid to GSA, exceeded $10.6 million for just above 1,000 vehicles. That’s more vehicles than FPS has officers.
The IG found problems including choosing more expensive SUVs (93 percent of all vehicles leased) when standard sedans are preferred under the rules; adding costly discretionary equipment to vehicles such as a premium wireless security system without justifying how they help the agency meet its mission requirements; and questionable use of the vehicles for home-to-work transportation.
Further, it said, FPS overpaid for law enforcement vehicle equipment packages, lacked a comprehensive vehicle allocation methodology, and did not have accurate fleet data to make management decisions.
Management concurred with the report’s recommendations to address those issues.
