Summary

In fiscal year 1997, the Forest Service's law enforcement program included 708 agency staff, including law enforcement officers, special agents, reserve law enforcement officers, and administrative staff. The cost of law enforcement in the agency totaled about $68.5 million. This included $43.8 million in salaries, $18.4 million in support costs, and $6.3 million in reimbursements to state and local law enforcement agencies for assisting with law enforcement activities on national forest lands.

GAO noted that: (1) in fiscal year 1997, the Forest Service's law enforcement program included 708 agency staff, including law enforcement officers, special agents, reserve law enforcement officers, and administrative staff; (2) the cost of law enforcement in the agency was about $68.5 million; (3) this included about $43.8 million in salaries, $18.4 million in support costs, and $6.3 million in reimbursements to state and local law enforcement agencies for assisting with law enforcement activities on national forest lands; (4) in 1996, there were 3,481 offenses involving serious misdemeanors and felonies such as assault, grand theft, and murder, and 118,596 petty offenses such as careless driving, discharging a firearm, use of firecrackers, alcohol violations, and permit violations; (5) there were 4 complaints against Forest Service law enforcement personnel in 1992; 13 complaints in 1993; 20 complaints in 1994; 25 complaints in 1995; 11 complaints in 1996; and 14 complaints in 1997; and (6) the Forest Service has a system to track the investigation and resolution of complaints against law enforcement staff.