Audit of the management and cost of the Department of Energy`s protective forces
The Department of Energy`s safeguards and security program is designed to provide appropriate, efficient, and effective protection of the Department`s nuclear weapons, nuclear materials, facilities, and classified information. These items must be protected against theft, sabotage, espionage, and terrorist activity, with continuing emphasis on protection against the insider threat. The purpose of the audit was to determine if protective forces were efficiently managed and appropriately sized in light of the changing missions and current budget constraints. The authors found that the cost of physical security at some sites had grown beyond those costs incurred when the site was in full production. This increase was due to a combination of factors, including concerns about the adequacy of physical security, reactions to the increase in terrorism in the early 1980s with the possibility of hostile attacks, and the selection of security system upgrades without adequate consideration of cost effectiveness. Ongoing projects to upgrade security systems were not promptly reassessed when missions changed and levels of protection were not determined in a way which considered the attractiveness of the material being protected. The authors also noted several opportunities for the Department to improve the operational efficiency of its protective force operations, including, eluminating overtime paid to officers prior to completion of the basic 40-hour workweek, paying hourly wages of unarmed guards which are commensurate with their duties, consolidating protective force units, transferring law enforcement duties to local law agencies, eliminating or reducing paid time to exercise, and standardizing supplies and equipment used by protective force members.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Office of Inspector General, Washington, DC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 10176351
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/IG-0354; ON: TI94017499; NC: NONE; TRN: AHC29419%%78
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jul 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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