OFFICE OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
Follow-up on Practices and Procedures of the Protective Services Division of the Office of Property Management
Testimony of Robin-Eve Jasper
Acting Director
Office of Property Management
Adrian M. Fenty
Mayor
COMMITTEE ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
Councilmember Carol Schwartz, Chairman
Thursday, May 29, 2008
11 am
Room 412
Council Chamber
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004-3003
Good morning Chairperson Schwartz and members of the Committee on Workforce Development and Government Operations. I am Robin-Eve Jasper, Acting Director of the Office of Property Management (OPM).
Thank you for the opportunity to testify at today’s continuation hearing. As the public may recall, today’s hearing is a continuation from the Public Roundtable held last week on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 regarding the practices and procedures of the Protective Services Division (PSD) of OPM.
A recent exposé raised several concerns regarding the safety and security of three District facilities; the Wilson Building, One Judiciary Square, and the Daly Building. The issues raised in the exposé were addressed in my testimony last week. I will not repeat all of my previous testimony today. I will, however, note a few important points.
The security of District-owned buildings is the responsibility of the Protective Services Division of OPM. PSD operates under a Special Police Commission issued by the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) Security Officer’s Management Branch. This authority is prescribed by DCMR 6A.
PSD officers have police powers only on District properties. PSD officers use MPD’s District Stations to hold suspects, process arrests, and perform criminal background checks, but do not investigate felony offenses.
Security guards, without arresting powers, are also hired on a contractual basis to supplement PSD operations. Security guard contractors, among other duties, monitor and screen individuals entering District-owned facilities.
Since the exposé was aired two weeks ago, several reforms have been made to increase security at District facilities. Some of these actions include, but are not limited to:
1. All of the sensitivity levels of the metal detectors controlled by OPM have been adjusted to comply with the manufacturer’s recommended standards. The sensitivity levels are the same as the standards used by Federal agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Government Accountability Office, and the U.S. Office of the Inspector General.
2. Policies and procedures have been implemented to establish daily testing of equipment. Forms and checklists have been created for each piece of equipment. In addition to daily inspections, trained PSD staff will perform monthly maintenance checks, along with quarterly preventative maintenance checks by a certified vendor. Signs have also been posted at each machine to explain how to report a problem.
3. OPM completed an inventory this week of all the x-ray and metal detectors in District buildings. OPM will work with all the responsible agencies to make sure there is an appropriate schedule for inspections and maintenance.
4. All of the hand wands used by District security personnel have been inspected and are working properly.
5. The broken x-ray machine at the Daly Building has been inspected and was fixed last week. Both of the x-ray machines and metal detectors at police headquarters are now under OPM’s control.
6. Refresher training was provided to all Hawk One and PSD officers stationed at x-ray machines and metal detectors.
7. OPM has begun enforcing a policy that requires food to go through x-ray machines. Special containers have been ordered to prevent food from spilling and damaging the machine. Some containers are already in use and are working well. According to OPM’s certified x-ray machine vendor, it is safe to put food through an x-ray machine. Nevertheless, some residents and DC government employees may not want to put their food through an x-ray machine. These items will be manually inspected by security.
8. OPM added two staff people at PSD to assist with the ongoing improvement process.
9. OPM is performing an analysis of useful practices of protective services training across the country and will consider those for implementation at PSD.
10. An OAG inquiry is ongoing regarding certain concerns raised in the exposé. When the inquiry is completed, OPM will take immediate and corrective action where necessary.
11. Overall, PSD has a strong track record of performance. They have successfully prevented and managed incidents at DC facilities and have no occurrences of accidental discharge of weapons or inappropriate use of force.
OPM continues to look forward to working with the Committee to further evaluate and improve the Protective Services Division.
The staff at OPM carefully reviewed last week’s hearing and has been working closely with various departments to answer your previous questions in preparation of today’s follow-up hearing.
Once again, thank you for this opportunity to testify. I welcome any questions you may have at this time.