Title: We Went Undercover to Test Federal Building Security 

Related work: GAO-25-108085, Federal Protective Service: Actions Needed
to Address Critical Guard Oversight and Information System Problems 

Description: Protecting federal buildings and facilities from growing
threats is a big, important job. We recently tested security at some of
these facilities. We learn more about our undercover investigation and
findings from GAO's Dave Marroni. 

Released: March 2025

{Music}

[Dave Marroni:] Federal facilities still have real security challenges
and FPS needs to act now and in a sustained way to address those
challenges.

[Holly Hobbs:] Hi, and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report. Your source for
fact-based, nonpartisan news and information from the U.S. Government
Accountability Office. I'm your host, Holly Hobbs. 
Across the U.S., there are thousands of federal buildings and
facilities, including office buildings and customer service centers.
Protecting these facilities from growing threats is a big, important
job. To see how effective security is at these facilities, GAO
investigators recently went undercover to test whether they could
smuggle in banned items, such as weapons. We'll learn more about this
investigation and our work on federal facility security. From GAO's Dave
Marroni, who led work for our new report. Thanks for joining us. 

[Dave Marroni:] Happy to be here.

[Holly Hobbs:] We don't always do undercover investigations for our
reports. So, I wanted to start with that. What all did we do? And what
did we find?

[Dave Marroni:] So our undercover work, we had investigators try and get
prohibited items into various federal facilities. They had a backpack.
They filled it with a prohibited item. So, we used pepper spray, baton,
or a multi-purpose tool with a knife. They also filled the backpack with
other common things you might have, like pens, paper. And then they
simply tried to get the backpack through the security guard process.
Through the screening process, you might see it in the airport and at
any secure facility. And the test was do the guards catch the item or
does it get through. And what we found is in about half the cases, they
succeeded in doing so. 

[Holly Hobbs:] What does that tell us about security in these
facilities?

[Dave Marroni:] What it says is these facilities are not as secure as
they need to be. And that's really a long-standing challenge. We've been
looking at this for 20 years now and it has been a consistent problem.
So, it's not new, but it's something that needs to be addressed. 

[Holly Hobbs:] So who's responsibility is it, then, to secure these
facilities?

[Dave Marroni:] So the Federal Protective Service, FPS, which is part of
the Department of Homeland Security, oversees the security of about 9000
federal facilities across the country. They provide security through a
contract guard workforce. So about 13,000 contract guards at facilities,
again, across the country. 

[Holly Hobbs:] And so we shared with them that we were able to bring
stuff into these facilities. How did they respond? What did they think
of our finding?

[Dave Marroni:] So they were appreciative of the results. They
definitely have a learning attitude. They also have their own covert
testing program. And they have found results that are consistent with
our own. So I don't think it was a surprise, but more of a confirmation
of a real issue they need to deal with and challenges that they have
been trying to tackle now for a couple of decades.

[Holly Hobbs:] Given that, what steps are they taking to better secure
these facilities?

[Dave Marroni:] They've taken a number of actions. First off, putting in
place that covert testing program has been a positive step. They didn't
used to have that. But in response to some of our prior work, they put
it in place. They've also improved training for contract guards over
time to try and give them more specific training on what they need to
do. And they have put in place some data systems that are meant to help
them oversee the guard program. Make sure that the guards have the
training and certifications they need to stand post. So those are all
positive steps.

[Holly Hobbs:] If we were still able to smuggle stuff in, then clearly
the steps they've taken aren't enough, right? 

[Dave Marroni:] So for all those items I just listed as positive steps,
there are challenges associated with it that still need to be addressed
to really improve guard performance. The covert testing program, they do
collect data, but it's not great data. It's not always consistently
entered and there's some real reliability issues with it. So that's a
problem. They also don't robustly analyze the data at this point to
really find out what are the systemic problems that we may need to
address. So that's an issue as well. They have improved their training
over time, but it's still not very targeted on certain issues. When a
guard, for instance, doesn't detect an item, some contractors will then
provide training that is very targeted and specific on how to not do
that again. Other contractors we found provide just general guidance
that doesn't actually address the issue they had, and that's not going
to be very effective. And then FSP has put in place data systems to try
and improve their oversight. So they have a sense that every guard post
is being staffed by someone who has the training and certifications they
need. And those systems have had real problems for years now, actually
doing what they're supposed to do.

{MUSIC}

[Holly Hobbs:] So, Dave just told us that even though actions have been
taken to better secure federal buildings and facilities, our
investigation revealed some gaps that still need to be addressed. Dave,
given what we found, what more do we think needs to be done to better
secure these facilities?

[Dave Marroni:] So first off, collect better, more consistent data, put
in a robust analysis of that data so that FPS can get a sense of what
are systemic issues and how do we address that in guard performance.
Secondly, they need to provide better guidance to contractors on what
specific training they should provide when specific issues arise, so
that guards can learn what they need to. 
And then finally, on the data systems, they really need to go back to
the drawing board and ask-- first off, these systems have been in place
for years now and have not been fixed. Should we start fresh? Or if not,
then they really need to come up with a plan with defined milestones on
when they're going to fix the problems, so the systems actually deliver
what they're supposed to. 

[Holly Hobbs:] And last question what's the bottom line of this report?

[Dave Marroni:] So the bottom line is federal facilities still have real
security challenges and FPS needs to act now and in a sustained way to
address those challenges. 

[Holly Hobbs:] That was Dave Marroni talking about our new report on
federal facility security. Thanks for your time, Dave.

[Dave Marroni:] Thank you.

[Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To
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