Fed agency that screens entry into US gov buildings fails to spot banned items 50% of time: watchdog

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report showing that the Federal Protective Services (FPS) fails to detect items prohibited from entering federal buildings about 50% of the time.

The findings are the result of 27 "covert" GAO's investigations in the early part of this year at 14 federal buildings.

In half the tests, security screenings failed to detect prohibited items like batons, pepper spray, knives, and IED components, according to the report released Tuesday.

FPS is part of the Department of Homeland Security led by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The report also states the agency – which manages and oversees more than 13,000 contract guards – is working to improve screening by increasing training and analyzing data to identify common causes of test failures.

"Federal real property has been on our High Risk List since 2003, due partly to past attacks on federal buildings, the report also states.

During his July 23 testimony, GAO Physical Infrastructure Team Director David Marroni said his agency identified deficiencies in FPS guard training and oversight that led to these screening failures going as far back as 2008.