November 20, 2008

Federal Protective Service

The Federal Protective Service (FPS) is a component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

Mission Statement

The FPS mission is to render federal properties safe and secure for federal employees, officials, and visitors in a professional and cost effective manner by deploying a highly trained and multi-disciplined police force.

Introduction

Protecting the critical infrastructure and key resources of the United States is essential to our nation’s security, public health and safety, economic vitality and way of life. The Federal Protective Service (FPS) protects one component of the nation's infrastructure by mitigating risk to federal facilities and their occupants. FPS organizes its activities along three guiding principles: stakeholder service, technical expertise and organizational excellence. Supporting these principles are immediate priorities that will allow FPS to meet its short-term goals and long-term strategic goals.

The federal agency charged with protecting and delivering integrated law enforcement and security services to GSA owned and leased facilities, FPS employs 1,200 federal staff (including 900 law enforcement security officers, criminal investigators, police officers, and support personnel) and 15,000 contract guard staff to secure approximately 9,000 buildings and safeguard their occupants. During FY08 FPS conducted more than 2,500 Building Security Assessments; responded to more than 2,600 protests and organized disturbances; made 1,888 arrests; investigated more than 2,100 accidents; investigated 1,503 larcenies; processed 248 weapons violations; and prevented the introduction of 660,331 banned items into federal facilities.

How We Work

FPS has established itself as the center of excellence for physical security operations and offers a comprehensive blanket of protection that cuts across all of government. From the installation of alarm systems, x-rays, magnetometers and entry control systems, to monitoring those systems 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, providing uniformed police response and investigative follow-up, FPS is organized to protect and serve. The provision of contract security guard services, crime prevention seminars tailored to individual agency and employee needs, facility security surveys, integrating intelligence gathering and sharing, and maintaining special operations capabilities all serve to make FPS a world-class security force. What FPS does every day embodies the spirit of DHS and contributes to the achievement of DHS goals and organizational excellence. This year FPS' contributions include:

• Providing a visible, uniformed police presence and approximately 15,000 armed contract security officers at 9,000 federal facilities/complexes throughout the nation
• Expanding networks of contacts in the intelligence gathering community
• Disseminating law enforcement information to FPS and 200 federal, state and local agencies
• Providing immediate police emergency and special security services to support Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during natural disasters
• Providing operational and law enforcement support for special events
• Outfitting and initiating classes in the new FPS Physical Security Academy building at FLETC to enhance training of the FPS police and inspector force
• Expanding, improving and standardizing Mega Center communications and dispatch operations
• Monitoring alarms and emergencies at facilities nationwide through four FPS “Mega Center” remote dispatch control centers
• Conducting occupant emergency planning, to include hazardous material incidents, terrorism, and criminal activities
• Investigating suspected criminal acts, including threats against persons or federal property
• Providing law enforcement coordinating activities relative to critical infrastructure protection

Strategic Alignment

In FY08, FPS published its first Strategic Plan to align its goals and its business processes with ICE, DHS and in support of its many stakeholders. This multi-year strategy provides a foundation for FPS’s operational activities, administrative, and financial functions, and its risk mitigation and law enforcement responsibilities. The plan has served as a tremendously successful launching pad for the development of a host of outcomebased performance measures.

A critical FPS accomplishment in FY08 and an essential component of its strategic plan is the design of the Risk Assessment and Management Plan (RAMP). This technologically advanced management tool will revolutionize the way FPS conducts its operations through the consolidation of six disparate systems used to track and process critical security and law enforcement information. RAMP will be a single repository for this information, which will reduce the time necessary to enter and maintain information, ensure consistency and provide all levels of FPS with more ready access to the information necessary to plan the appropriate security measures for federal facilities.

Emergency Incidents

FPS was called upon to assist with and to assure comprehensive and timely planning for critical incidents and special events in FY08. In addition to planning for such events, FPS increased its operational readiness by standing up Critical Incident Response Teams comprised of highly qualified, highly trained individuals that are capable of responding to emergencies and incidents within 24 hours. To further improve its respond time to these ICE mission critical assignments, FPS developed and implemented a highly successful standardized Warning Order, Deployment Order and Operations Plan. And, using research and lessons learned from this initiative, FPS realized the need for training and assistance to improve the capability of buildings impacted by special events to improve the safety of their occupants. To that end, FPS wrote and released a revised Occupant Emergency Planning (OEP) Guide in FY08 to provide training and assistance in the development of local emergency response plans. Fully consistent with the National Response Framework and National Incident Management System Chemical and Biological Attack Preparedness, the plan revamped and realigned FPS’ Hazardous Response Program to ensure all HAZMAT planning preparedness and response operations maintained consistency with the National Incident Management System.

National Countermeasures Program

During the past year, FPS conceptualized, developed, and implemented a National Countermeasures Program, an overarching program that identifies and addresses all FPS countermeasure management issues. This novel approach to countermeasure performance improvement provided for the development of the statement of work for the national X-ray leasing procurement. In addition to including a comprehensive, consolidated and ambitious plan for acquiring magnetometers, intrusion detection systems and closed circuit video systems to augment or replace its existing inventory the program also aligns equipment acquisition with a robust countermeasures maintenance program.

Government Facilities Sector Specific Plan

FPS/ICE aggressively and effectively carried out its responsibilities related to the Government Facilities Sector Specific Plan embodied in the national Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP). In FY08, FPS created and published a comprehensive Government Facilities Sector Annual Plan. Moreover, FPS used the performance measures in that plan to provide continuous and effective monitoring of the status of the Government Facilities Sector. As ICE’s recognized experts in the area of risk mitigation, FPS led the way in expanding opportunities for inclusion of state and local security partners in the Government Facilities Coordinating Council.

Stakeholder Relations

To build on an already successful campaign to improve stakeholder relations, FPS partnered with GSA to create the Executive Advisory Council in FY08. Consisting of senior officials of outside customer and client agencies, this body meets regularly to engage in constructive dialog that has consistently resulted in promoting effective coordination of security strategy and activities, policy and communications with department and agency occupants of federally owned and federally leased facilities. The creation and the accomplishments made possible by this alliance have tremendously strengthened ICE’s risk mitigation capabilities thereby improving the levels of protection for federal facilities.

Operations and Emergency Missions

Democratic and Republican National Conventions

FPS assigned, coordinated and managed the deployment of personnel and equipment to ensure the security of facilities and protection of attendees at these events. In addition, FPS provided personnel and logistical support to assist with crowd control and contain disturbances. FPS also provided a mobile command vehicle to serve as a communications platform for other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies having security and law enforcement responsibilities for the events.

Hurricane Gustav

On August 30, 2008, FPS deployed dozens of FPS law enforcement officers to assist in the protection efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.

Hurricane Ike

FPS law enforcement officers were deployed to Texas for hurricane staging preparation. FPS officers provided vital assistance to FEMA and HHS by facilitating and ensuring the safe and timely arrival of rescue and assist teams including Management Assistance Teams and Disaster Medical Assistance Teams. FPS officers played a critically important role in force protection and assessments of federal buildings.

President-Elect Protection Detail

FPS is currently actively engaged in the protection of the president-elect and his transition team. FPS law enforcement personnel have been assigned to secure offices in Chicago, Ill. and additional FPS resources have been committed to pre-inaugural and inaugural events including assignment of a large number of officers for crowd control and personal protection on Inauguration Day.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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