State Agency - NASACT



TOPIC: Audit of State PoliceOFFICE: AuditorSTATE: NJDATE: 06/18/2014QUESTION / ISSUE: We are currently auditing the NJ Division of State Police.?Administrative staff are made up of uniform/enlisted and civilian administrative positions (H/R, fiscal, purchasing, IT, etc.). We would like to know:How are your State Police operations structured??Are they stand alone or are they part of a Division within a larger Department?Are their administrative functions performed by civilian or uniformed/enlisted members?What functions are performed by civilian personnel?If uniformed/enlisted members perform administrative functions, approximately what percentage of administrative work is performed by them versus civilian personnel?Please include a contact person that we could reach out to with additional questions.StateCommentsAlabamaThe Department of Public Safety (DPS) is our state police and has operated as a stand-alone agency. However, the state legislature passed an act that would combine all state enforcement efforts under one agency, the State Law Enforcement Agency. The new agency will have two divisions – the Department of Public Safety and the State Bureau of Investigations. The law created a cabinet level position Secretary of the Law Enforcement Agency. Enforcement units related to transportation, agriculture, alcoholic beverage control, marine police and homeland security will be brought under the new agency. Some of these enforcement units will be divisions of the new agency. The secretary will also serve as the director of Homeland Security. The effective date for the new agency is January 1, 2015.Administrative functions of the DPS are performed by officers and civilians. Officers are the heads of the divisions of DPS.Civilian personnel perform the accounting, clerical and other administrative functions.I have no information about percentages of civilians versus enlisted members.The accounting director at the Department of Public Safety is Fran Copeland, (334) 353-9896. The accounting director for the new Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is Jennifer Frost, (334) 517-2820.GeorgiaWhile the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts has not conducted an examination that specifically addresses the staffing and structure of Georgia’s state law enforcement personnel, we have completed two performance reviews (one audit and one non-audit) that touch upon the staffing and structure of the Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia Capitol Police, which are located within our Department of Public Safety. We believe these examinations will provide some insight into how Georgia organizes and staffs its state law enforcement activities. Copies of these examinations are attached below. However, it should be noted, the state also operates other law enforcement units beyond the Department of Public Safety. Most notably is the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is the chief investigative arm of state law enforcement. Unfortunately, we have not performed any examination that would provide insight on how the GBI is staffed or structured. We have included a brief description of the most prominent Georgia law enforcement units and links to their current websites. We recommend contacting these agencies directly if additional information on their staff or structure is needed. The Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS) oversees the day-to-day operations of the Georgia State Patrol (GSP), Capitol Police and the Motor Carrier Compliance Division (MCCD). GSP troopers investigate traffic crashes and enforce traffic and criminal laws on the state’s roads. Capitol Police officers prevent and detect criminal acts, and enforce traffic regulations throughout Capitol Hill. MCCD officers conduct safety inspections of commercial motor vehicles and inspect highway Hazmat shipments (Source: Georgia Department of Public Safety website). Website: Georgia State Patrol’s responsibilities include patrolling public roads and highways and investigating traffic accidents within the state of Georgia, thereby safeguarding the lives and property of the public. The department's troopers work to reduce accidents and injuries by enforcing traffic laws, encouraging seat belt use, and targeting drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol. In addition, the department provides law enforcement assistance to other local and state agencies of the criminal justice community in areas such as specialty units, fugitive apprehension, and Homeland Security (Source: State of Georgia’s Budget Report FY 2015). Website: Georgia Capitol Police Unit consists of sworn law enforcement officers who have the primary responsibility of protecting life and property; preventing and detecting criminal acts, and enforcing traffic regulations throughout Capitol Hill. This includes the apprehension of criminals, traffic enforcement and protection of public and building security in the Capitol Hill area (Source: Georgia Department of Public Safety website). Website: Bureau of Investigation (GBI) serves as the primary state-level investigative and enforcement agency in Georgia's fight against crime and corruption. Upon request, the GBI provides investigative and enforcement support services to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies throughout Georgia. In addition to conducting general and specialized investigations, the GBI provides forensic laboratory examinations, and collects data on crime and criminals. The GBI uses its numerous programs and the latest technological advancements in crime fighting to combat drug trafficking and other crimes (Source: State of Georgia’s Budget Report FY 2015). Website: LouisianaLouisiana State Police (LSP) is an agency within the Louisiana Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Louisiana DPS is made up of several agencies, including Office of State Police, Office of Motor Vehicles, Office of Management & Finance, Office of State Fire Marshal, Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, Louisiana Gaming Control Board, Louisiana Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission, Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator's Office, and Office of Legal Affairs. LSP enforces the laws and regulations relating to motor vehicle operations; gaming activity connected to video draw poker, riverboat gaming, land based casino, horse racetracks, and Indian gaming; motor carrier safety; the towing industry; and hazardous materials regulations. These operations are carried out through the traffic enforcement, criminal investigations, gaming enforcement, operational support, and statewide communications auxiliary sections.The DPS Office of Management & Finance provides the administrative services to all agencies?within the Louisiana Department of Public Safety. The Office of Management and Finance is composed of Financial Services, Human Resources, Budget Services, Information Technology & Communications, and Internal Audit. OM&F staff are civilians.See #2 above.N/A; See #2.Louisiana Legislative Auditor contact – Nicole Martin, Financial Audit Manager, (225) 336-6085 or (225) 339-3800, nmartin@lla.State agency contact – Jill Boudreaux, Undersecretary for the Office of Management & Finance, Louisiana Department of Public Safety, (225) 925-6032, undersec@dps. MarylandWe did a performance audit on the possible civilianization of certain jobs performed by uniformed officers back in 2004 (see attached). I don’t recall it receiving a very receptive welcome and I don’t recall much changing because of it.The Maryland State Police is a stand-alone department with the superintendent (colonel) answering to the governor. The MSP consists of 5 units (): Office of the Superintendent, Field Operations (which includes the medevac helicopter operations), Criminal Investigation (including state crime lab), Support Services, and the State Fire Marshall.Administrative functions are primarily performed by civilians, but in 2004 and from a review of the 2014 budget (), a significant number of uniformed personnel are assigned to units with primarily administrative/support functions, so the presumption is that they appear to be performing some administrative duties.Job descriptions in the state budget are fairly descriptive and the civilian duties could be gleaned from a review of them (see “Personnel Detail” at the back of the budget document from the preceding website link).It is hard to say how many administrative functions are performed by uniformed personnel, but in the Office of the Superintendent and Support Services units, where the majority of administrative jobs exist, it looks like about 40% and 80%, respectively, are filled by civilians.Difficult to identify an appropriate contact at MSP, as the audit liaison is usually a captain, but there is frequent rotation of uniformed staff and it is never the same person two audits in a row.MichiganThe Michigan Department of State Police is a cabinet level department within?our state.Executive staff are uniformed officers but most?administrative/accounting functions are performed by civilian civil service workers.According to the State Police website, civilians may be dispatchers, forensic scientists, and analysts and technicians that may be assigned varied tasks.We do not have this data.The State Police public affairs section phone number is (517) 241-0955. Our office's?liaison to the department is?Ms. Jackie Reese?– reesej@ (517) 241-0981.?MississippiOur division recently completed a performance audit of the Fiscal Management component of the Support Services Division of our state’s Department of Public Safety. The Support Services Division functions as the administrative branch for the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, the closest proximity our state has to a state police, which is another division of the Department of Public Safety. Centralized Fiscal Management is comprised of entirely civilian employees filling the fiscal, accounts receivable/payable, grants management, property, and purchasing positions. However, county satellite highway patrol offices are managed and staffed by sworn and non-sworn highway safety patrol personnel. Attached is a copy of our report.MissouriThe Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) is part of the Department of Public Safety.The MSHP employs civilian personnel who perform functions such as accounting, budgeting, and IT/IS operations.See response to question 3. Our office does not have that information.Please see the website (MSHP Contact).New HampshireA division within the Department of Safety.Both.Please see audit reports linked below, particularly the Field Operations Bureau report.As above.Please feel free to contact Steve Fox, Performance Audit Supervisor, or Steve Grady, Senior Audit Manager. Steve Grady was in charge of the day-to-day management of both audits and Steve Fox has responsibility for all performance audit work conducted by the office. They can be reached at the phone number listed above or at the email addresses noted above.I also refer you to two relatively recent (October 2010 and September 2011) performance audit reports our office issued for the Forensic Laboratory and the Field Operations Bureau of the New Hampshire State Police. The links to these reports are: YorkThe New York State Police is a stand-alone agency.A mix of civilians and uniformed members perform administrative functions.To obtain the most complete and current answer it is best to contact the DSP directly.We do not have the data to accurately respond to this question. Please contact the DSP directly.Our audit liaison is Lt. Col. Terence O'Mara, Assistant Deputy Superintendent for Administration, (518) 457-6622 or Terence.Omara@troopers..VirginiaStand-alone department.Both civilian and sworn (uniformed) officers.Administration and office support, H/R, fiscal, procurement, IT, audit, policy analysis and planning, probation and parole services, etc.There is no way of reasonably estimating the percentage of administrative work performed by sworn vs. civilian employees. While some sworn employees are primarily assigned to administrative duties, they are also required to perform the same duties of any other law enforcement officer at all times while working.Laurie Hicks (laurie.hicks@apa.) or Shatima Taylor (shatima.taylor@apa.).West VirginiaThey are a part of a larger department (Military Affairs & Public Safety), with a superintendent in charge of the State Police and various levels below him.Both.Primarily, most office duties are performed by civilian employees.This information is not available, however, the percentage would be small. Only supervisory positions have uniformed members.The comptroller may be able to answer additional questions: Connie E Gundy, WV State Police, Connie.E.Gundy@. ................
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