Board Report: September 3, 2007
We completed an inspection of the Board's Protective Services Unit (PSU), the organization that ensures the physical security of the Chairman of the Board of Governors. The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 granted the Board certain federal law enforcement authorities, and the regulations implementing this new authority--the Uniform Regulations for Federal Reserve Law Enforcement Officers (Uniform Regulations)--designated the OIG as the External Oversight Function (EOF) for the Board's law enforcement programs. We performed this inspection to fulfill our EOF responsibility.
The objective of this inspection was to provide reasonable assurance that the PSU complied with the Uniform Regulations, Board and PSU internal policies and procedures, and applicable laws. To accomplish our objective, we performed a comprehensive inventory of PSU weapons and ammunition, reviewed training and personnel records for PSU management and staff, and verified that PSU law enforcement officers obtained required certifications. Also, we interviewed Board and PSU management and staff, as well as law enforcement officials at the United States Secret Service and another federal agency that has a personal protection function.
Overall, we found that the PSU generally complies with the Uniform Regulations, Board and PSU internal policies and procedures, and applicable laws. The inspection report included three recommendations designed to enhance PSU's internal control environment. We presented the inspection results to the Staff Director for Management and the PSU Special Agent in Charge who concurred with our findings and agreed to implement our recommendations. Our report will not be made available to the public because it contains security-related information.
