GAO: Security weak at many federal buildings

In the wake of the recent shootings at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., you would think that federal authorities would get the message and make sure that the security at all federal buildings is top-notch in the nation's capital and across the country. But that's not exactly the case.

The Government Accountability Office reported Wednesday there are some big gaping holes at government buildings. Undercover investigators were able to enter all 10 federal buildings it tested for security breaches and find these holes. The GAO issued its report during a hearing of Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs reviewing the Federal Protection Service (FPS), the agency responsible for protecting 9,000 government buildings.

Mark Goldstein, Director Physical Infrastructure Issues at GAO, testified that investigators were able to smuggle a components of an improvised explosive device (IED) into 10 buildings in four different cities. The list of the FPS's failings is lengthy, according to the GAO report. And the reasons to make significant changes are urgent.

The FPS doesn't make sure that contract security personnel have the required training, especially in dealing with X-ray and magnetometer competency, the GAO said. Furthermore, it does not have an efficient system to monitor and verify that guards meet all training requirements: An inspection of 633 random guards found that more than half of them had at least one expired certificate.

With technology at the fingertips of every federal agency, you would think it would be an easy task for the FPS, the agency responsible for monitoring security, to make sure the system is air tight and that a shootout at any federal building never takes place.

For more on security at federal buildings:
- check out this AHN article