Report Finds National Landmarks At Risk

Feb 5, 2008 3:25 PM

           

According to a government report about the U.S. Park Police, national icons such as the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty are left vulnerable because of inadequate security.

The Interior Department's inspector general accuses the Park Police of an "overall lack of commitment to its icon security responsibilities," citing chronic understaffing along with a lack of coordination and training.

The report states, "We found that despite having increased security and law enforcement responsibilities since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, USPP's staffing levels are lower now than they were six years ago."

The inspector general's office cites the example of last August, when two protesters dressed as superheroes climbed onto the statue's lap at the Lincoln Memorial and hung a banner. During the situation, Park Police were absent from their post and private guards did nothing to stop them.

David Barna, a spokesman for the National Park Service, which includes the Park Police, spoke with the Associated Press, saying that though the service takes the report seriously, some of the claims are untrue.

"A lot of it is based on comments that can't necessarily be substantiated," he says. "So we have to separate the fact from some of the fiction that it's in there."

One example Barna told the AP about was a part of the report that claims that Chief Dwight E. Pettiford had not visited the New York office for four years despite morale problems. In fact, Pettiford has been to New York twice in a year and a half, Barna said.

The Interior Department has 90 days to respond to the inspector general's report in writing.

According to the report, the Park Police have no comprehensive program for guarding national landmarks. There frequently are not enough people to fill all the posts, and sometimes posts are assigned to officers who are on leave, the report says.

Investigators found that a grate blocking access to stairs under the Washington Monument was left open and unattended for about 20 minutes. In another case, a visitor left a suitcase against the monument's wall for five minutes, and nobody appeared to notice.

Included in the report is a photograph of an officer who appears to be sleeping in what the report says is a patrol vehicle at the Jefferson Memorial.

The Park Police often rely on private security companies, but there is little coordination between the private guards and the officers, the report said. Officers told the investigators that many of the guards don't speak English.

The report says many officers, particularly in the San Francisco field office, which patrols the Golden Gate Bridge area, have not met minimum firearm qualification standards because of a lack of ammunition.

The report can be found here.

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