Summary: The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) provides federal law enforcement training for 75 Partner Organizations (agencies) primarily at four domestic facilities located at Glynco, Ga; Artesia, N. Mex.; Charleston, S.C.; and Cheltenham, Md.. Given the post-terrorist attack security environment, coupled with the increased demand for training, concerns have been raised about FLETC's continued ability to meet this training demand. Because of these concerns, GAO was asked to issue a report on (1) how FLETC plans to meet the projected demand for training; (2) FLETC's ability to efficiently coordinate and schedule training activities; and (3) whether oversight and governance structures provide the guidance it needs to address its capacity and planning challenges.
FLETC's overall capacity to provide training at the Glynco and Charleston campuses is currently strained, while Artesia has been underutilized, and Cheltenham is being upgraded and cannot operate at full capacity. FLETC is developing a Master Plan to address how to overcome the long-term capacity challenges, but questions exist regarding the assumptions and methodologies used, contingency planning, cost estimation and budgeting, and the need to address capacity shortfalls sooner than planned. Department of Homeland Security officials intend to review the new department's training needs and capacities, and update the plan to reflect its vision for law enforcement training. Within the context of its strained training capacity, FLETC uses a predominantly manual scheduling process that does not ensure the efficient use of training resources and poses internal control risks due to potential loss of scheduling materials and the lack of backup documentation. Although FLETC has begun the process to acquire a fully automated scheduling system, FLETC officials have yet completed important risk management activities and are not using recognized best practices for acquiring commercial off-the-shelf-based systems associated with this type of acquisition. Furthermore, FLETC's solicitation activities have not adequately addressed security requirements. FLETC faces additional challenges regarding its governance structure in that the status of FLETC's Board of Directors is unclear, and its membership, roles and responsibilities, and past practices are not fully consistent with prevailing governance best practices.
