Report Contents
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security establish a monitoring plan to assist it in achieving its stated goal to complete the physical security surveys by September 2016. The monitoring plan should consist of critical tracking metrics such as key interim milestones, percentage of completion, and other status or performance indicators to assess progress against stated goals.
OIG recommends that the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security send a cable to all post security officers and applicable post management emphasizing the importance of completing physical security surveys on time. The cable should instruct posts to dedicate sufficient resources to post security officers to meet their deadlines.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) populate the Deficiencies Database no later than December 31, 2015, with deficiencies identified as of September 1, 2015. If DS cannot populate the Deficiencies Database with available information by December 31, 2015, DS must provide a justification for the delay and a revised schedule for accomplishing the task as soon as possible.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security develop and implement standard policies and procedures for populating the Deficiencies Database with deficiencies from all potential sources. The policies and procedures should include specified timeframes for populating deficiencies into the database and approving them within reasonable timeframes once deficiencies have been identified.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) update the Deficiencies Database to include a data field to track the results of the vetting process as either valid or invalid. If DS concludes that a deficiency is not valid, a justification for this conclusion should be required within the vetting comments field.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations develop and implement a method to track the funding status of every physical security deficiency identified by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security in the Deficiencies Database.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, develop and implement formal standardized processes to prioritize physical security-related deficiencies at posts by category, such as major physical security upgrades, forced-entry/ballistic-resistant projects, and minor physical security upgrades. The prioritizations should be performed based on a comprehensive list of all physical security needs and should be periodically updated based on changes in risk factors or posts’ needs. The processes used to perform the prioritizations should be documented and repeatable. In addition, in developing the processes, consideration should be given to how the Overseas Security Policy Board standards will be utilized, what risk factors will be considered, and what impact upcoming major rehabilitation projects or new construction would have on the prioritized rankings.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, in coordination with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, develop and issue a Long-Range Physical Security Plan.
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations develop and implement a process to respond to posts' formal requests for physical security-related funding, which should include commitments to respond within certain timeframes.