A new report by the District’s inspector general is ripping the police force tasked with securing city government buildings, including the John A. Wilson Building that houses the offices of the mayor and D.C. Council.
The Protective Services Police Department hasn’t properly trained and equipped its officers, who often haven’t been sufficiently vetted and sometimes go unpunished for breaking rules, according to the IG’s report.
And guards from the security company that used to help the police force often left posts unmanned, were poorly trained and did not stop undercover officers from sneaking knives and guns past security checkpoints.
But the Department of Real Estate Services, which oversees the Protective Services Police Department (PSPD), said many of the problems laid out in the IG’s investigation “have already been resolved.” The yearlong IG investigation finished last June but the report wasn’t made public until last month.
The IG’s report listed a litany of problems with the 90-man force. One of the major findings was that the security contractors used to man checkpoints failed to keep dangerous weapons out of city buildings. One undercover Protective Services police officer was waved through security with knives hidden in both shoes. Another officer set off a metal detector with a plastic handgun and a metal clip, but was waved through.
The security company, Hawk One, is no longer used by the department, and new controls have been put in place to tighten security, the department said.
On Wednesday, when there were protests outside the council’s budget deliberations, a reporter observed a woman with no identification being waved through security at the Wilson building. All visitors are required to show I.D.
The IG also found that Protective Services officers hadn’t received mandatory weapons training, some hadn’t had been subjected to a full background check before being hired, and many openly flouted department rules.
“We have [employees] that have been AWOL multiple times and nothing happens,” one officer said in the report.
A spokesman said the department would have no other comment other than what was provided in the IG’s report. Director Robin-Eve Jasper said the IG’s evaluation “was initiated when significant changes were occurring within the Protective Services Police Department including a change in leadership and a thorough internal analysis of PSPD operations.”
