By Jim Popkin, NBC News Senior Investigative Producer
The Statue of Liberty, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial are all national icons - potent symbols of American ideals and democracy.And yet these national treasures are often left woefully unprotected - by absent guards, sleeping officers, and a disinterested, under-trained police force, according to a stinging
report published today by the Interior Department’s Inspector General.
Interior IG Earl Devaney and his staff recently interviewed more than 100 U.S. Park Police staffers, and secretly monitored Park Police security operations at national monuments in New York and Washington. They found “deficient security” at the monuments and “an inability to effectively conduct police operations.”
New York:
Ninety-five percent of Park Police officers interviewed in New York say that staffing at the Statue of Liberty is insufficient. “The truth is that we are not covering the posts…it’s all smoke and mirrors,” one manager confided. (Watch video: Safety on the National Mall)
During a site visit to the Statue of Liberty, the IG was unable to find any uniformed personnel “for several hours.” In addition, only one or two people monitor the 110 surveillance cameras that are trained on Liberty Island and Ellis Island, the IG reports, and 27 of those cameras were inoperable during a surprise inspection.
Washington:
Security at Washington’s many monuments is no better, the report concludes. The security is “just a show put on for” management, one officer claimed. In fact, the IG staff photographed contract security guards at the Washington Monument reading a newspaper and chatting on a cell phone. In another photo, an officer is seen taking a nap in his patrol car outside the Jefferson Memorial.
Park Police response:
In response to the report, Park Police Chief Dwight Pettiford assured the Washington Post that the monuments are “still standing.” Pettiford told the Post, which first reported on the IG review, “We've continued to move the mission forward under my tenure. "It's moved further than it has in the last 15 years. We will continue to move it forward as long as I'm the chief." A Park Police spokesman adds: "We are proud of the men and women of the U. S. Park Police, and their tradition of protecting our visitors and our National treasurers."
Look for more hard-hitting reports by the Interior Department IG in the months to come. Devaney has earned a reputation for stubborn independence, and a no-nonsense approach to government malfeasance. He once famously said: “Simply stated, short of a crime, anything goes at the highest levels of the Department of the Interior.”
