What is this blog about?

Certainly the leadership of OS&LE and LETC will attempt to deflect attention from this blog by dismissing it as being the ramblings of disgruntled current or former employee. But the challenge would be to reach that conclusion after reviewing this blog. It is long past time for VA Office of the Inspector General to review OS&LE or LETC’s training records with respect to their law enforcement authority, review overall activities for efficiency, ethical processes and decisions, and review position descriptions based on actual duties performed versus what is in the position description.

This blog is intended to inform the public about a federal law enforcement national headquarters that issues regulatory guidance, but does not follow its own rules: the Department of Veteran Affairs Office of Security and Law Enforcement (OS&LE) and the Department of Veteran Affairs Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC). The initial awareness that these two organizations were actively ignoring their own rules about becoming and maintaining employment as a member of VA law enforcement came from their own personnel. Several OS&LE and LETC members have been candid about not conforming to the established hiring and training standards. These Freedom of Information Act requests easily confirm what OS&LE and LETC members have described. The releases confirm members of these organizations must adhere to published VA Police standards, that they do not or did not attend annual medical or psychological evaluations per VA regulations, and that they have no activity or standard of oversight.

The releases confirm no extra or special regulations regarding OS&LE or LETC positional requirements. This is easily concluded because if there were such documents they would have been released in compliance with FOIA law, so they do not exist. So OS&LE and LETC personnel must meet the same standards of employment and training as every member of the VA Police national organization. It has been explained that some OS&LE and LETC members were or have been waived from some or all initial or continuing education requirements. If such a waiver policy exists, it was not released which would be a violation of FOIA law, so again it must not exist. Of course this may be happening without the policy, but that would violate the Directive 0730 and this would be identified if they received any oversight at all.

What was particularly concerning is almost each OS&LE and LETC position description had the duty Criminal Investigator.  But there was no release of a case assignment roster, investigator log, or any other investigation case tracking mechanism. In fact, the release answering this specific FOIA request for the case assignment roster stated they have no such thing. So either they do have it in accordance with their own policies and did not release it in violation of FOIA laws or they do not perform this duty and their positions should be reclassified to a lower grade.

Perhaps the most outrageous statement from the releases is the assertion that OS&LE and LETC oversee themselves for compliance with VA Police regulations. Is self oversight in line with the “new culture of accountability” President Obama’s promised?  They did offer that LETC is FLETA accredited, but this is a poor distraction at best. FLETA accreditation means a law enforcement course meets a recognized standard, not that the instructors are in compliance with their own agency’s employment or arming standards. I wonder if LETC would be FLETA accredited if FLETA reviewed training records?

OS&LE and LETC FOIA Request Overview

The Office of Security and Law Enforcement (OS&LE) falls under the Office Operations, Security and Preparedness.  The Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) is an organizational part of OS&LE.  (http://www.osp.va.gov/OSandLE_Overview.asp)    All requests and releases are posted here.  It is important to look at what was requested and what was released.  In other words, either they complied with FOIA laws and released everything or they did not release all requested documents in violations of FOIA.  My interpretation of what was released confirmed that the headquarters branch of the VA Police operated without activity oversight, supervision, or review and that these organizational groups were not in compliance with regulations regarding VA Police standards.  This lack of oversight was directly answered in one of the releases with the offering that OS&LE and LETC oversee themselves which seems at odd with the idea that government agencies cannot oversee themselves.  The release that identifies the standards OS&LE and LETC personnel must maintain can be found in the first paragraph in the memorandum found in in 12 VA Release (6).  This identifies that credentialed special agents must comply with VA Directive and Handbook 0730.  Most if not all of the requested documents are directed to be maintained by these regulations, but these documents were not released.  So again, either FOIA laws were complied with and the files do not exist or the files exist and were not released in violation of FOIA.

The conclusion based on my interpretation of what was released is that OS&LE (which includes LETC) is an armed organization with no oversight whatsoever and based on the lack of released information (specifically a case assignment register or other record of investigations assigned and completed) a strong probability these positions are over graded.  They assert oversight an internal review to ensure compliance.  Of course, the irony is that not only is this an armed organization with no external assurances they are in compliance with agency regulation, but that they conduct inspections of field departments to ensure they are in compliance with the agency regulations (no leading by example here).

Corrective actions would be for an appropriate office within the Department of Veterans Affairs should undertake a detailed inspection or review of the activities of the Office of Security and Law Enforcement and Law Enforcement Training Center; someone from the Department’s Human Resource Classification Office should review the position

My requests (10 18 12 Request 11 12 05 Request 11 12 05 Request (2)) which essentially encompassed:

– Position descriptions of Office of Security and Law Enforcement (OS&LE) and Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC)

– Organizational charts

– Documents submitted to the US Marshal Service (USMS) showing OS&LE and LETC personnel were compliant with USMS deputation standards

– The guidance and requirements that OS&LE and LETC personnel were to follow to maintain qualifications and certification

– Annual Training Plan

– Oversight records that assessed or inspected OS&LE and LETC personnel training records, training compliance, certification, qualification, etc. along with review results 2006-2011 and action plans addressing deficiencies and noted best practices

 

OS&LE and LETC Oversee Themselves?

OS&LE and LETC responded to the request for oversight records by admitting they have no external oversight (12 01 30 VA Response). Here are two armed organizations with criminal investigation duties and responsibilities, arrest authority, and authorized to exercise deadly force that admit they have literally no oversight. The first admission of this was the release dated January 30, 2012 which states, “This organization (OS&LE) does not maintain records that are responsive to your request as written for ‘records concerning oversight of the Office of Security and Law Enforcement and the Law Enforcement Training Center for 2006-2011’…” The final admission of no oversight came from the VA’s Office of General Counsel (14 05 20 VA Response (2)): “…in response to this portion of your request OSLE noted the following: a) that internal monitoring is conducted through successive levels of management; b) that LETC is accredited by the Federal Law Enforcement Accreditation Board (FLETA); …” (read the paragraph 7 yourself). My interpretation of this response is the admission that OS&LE and LETC practice self regulation to ensure regulatory compliance which prove through other releases to be a failure.

Of course, the assertion that compliance is maintained by successive levels of management is a failure.  Note in 12 VA Release (6) that the memorandum issued in 2012 to the members of OS&LE and LETC direct them to complete annual medical and psychological evaluations in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0730.  Why would the DAS/Director of OS&LE need to issue a memorandum if his subordinates were in compliance?  What other aspects of Directive and Handbook 0730 were or are not being accomplished by OS&LE or LETC personnel?

The FLETA reference is an obvious distractor. FLETA establishes a standard for training and for the LETC conduct of courses. FLETA does not have anything to do with ensuring the instructors are in compliance with the agency’s occupational standards.

Conclusion:  the Inspector General or some other external body should review the activities of these armed law enforcement offices to ensure efficiency of resources and ethical behaviors.

Lack of Compliance with Agency Regulations?

The requests sought the standards for OS&LE and LETC personnel to maintain qualifications and certification. VA Directive 0730 August 11, 2000 was released in response to this request (12 01 19 VA Response12  VA Release (1)). This is verified by the first paragraph in the memorandum in this release 12 VA Release (6) that states OS&LE personnel must adhere to VA Directive and Handbook 0730.  This means all personnel within the VA Police nationwide organization to include OS&LE and LETC personnel fall the same regulatory qualification and certification requirements.

The initial and continuing education for the OS&LE and LETC personnel should have been easy to release as both are spelled out in the Directive 0730 and the associated VA Handbook 0730, but there was no comprehensive release. This raised my suspicion that these two organizations may not be complying with the elements or the spirit and intent of Directive and Handbook 0730. This suspicion was at least partially confirmed by the memorandum found in the release a document within 12 VA Release (6). Per the Directive and Handbook 0730 VA Police personnel have to have initial and annual medical and psychological evaluations and if the OS&LE and LETC personnel were in compliance, the memorandum from Frederick R. Jackson would be unnecessary.

“2. Beginning with FY 12 annual psychological assessments will be accomplished once a year by each OS&LE Special Agent. …” … “Completion of the annual physical examination and psychological assessment is required for each armed Special Agent assigned to OS&LE North and South. …”

Had the armed personnel within OS&LE and LETC been inspected or assessed by an oversight body this element of non-compliance would have been identified and corrected and not require a corrective memorandum. This also raises the question as to what this noncompliance would mean to the US Marshals Service (USMS). The USMS directive (12 VA Release (5)) requires the applicant for deputation to have completed a basic law enforcement training program and have successfully qualified with their weapon. By the Directive 0730, the only basic law enforcement course recognized by the VA Police is course in Little Rock Arkansas. But one of the released applications (12 VA Release (7)) identifies the USAFOSI Academy as the completed course.  The first thought is that a waiver or some other way to substitute a recognized law enforcement academy for the LETC basic officer course would explain this, but no waiver instruction document was released.

Because there are no oversight documents there is no way to know if OS&LE and LETC are in compliance with any aspect of the VA Police regulations. The irony is that OS&LE website states that these personnel inspect VA Police throughout the nation to ensure compliance with the regulations they are at least partially not in compliance and LETC is conducting training on these same regulations while apparently not adhering to them.  If they are currently in compliance, the question to be asked would be how long were they not in compliance and what activities were they responsible for and completed before regulatory requirements were met?

OS&LE and LETC Position Descriptions

12 VA Release (6)12 VA Release (2)12 VA Release (7) and finish this post to read about this position description 12 VA Release (8)

Since the OS&LE website and the various position descriptions indicate the OS&LE and LETC personnel are criminal investigators by series (1811) and the OS&LE and LETC have the embedded criminal investigator duty there are only two interpretations: either they are conducting undocumented and unrecorded criminal investigations or they are not conducting criminal investigations at all. The first might suggest a rogue, unchecked organization not in compliance with its own regulation regarding the conduct of criminal investigations (or perhaps this is an organization that does not enforce regulatory record keeping standards) while the other suggests a false or non-existent duty within the position description for the purpose of inflating the grade.

OPM describes the 1811 series as “covers positions which supervise, lead, or perform work involving planning, conducting, or managing investigations related to alleged or suspected criminal violations of Federal laws. The work involves: recognizing, developing, and presenting evidence to reconstruct events, sequences, time elements, relationships, responsibilities, legal liabilities, and conflicts of interest; conducting investigations in a manner meeting legal and procedural requirements; and providing advice and assistance both in and out of court to the U.S. Attorney’s Office during investigations and prosecutions.

Work in this series primarily requires knowledge of criminal investigative techniques, rules of criminal procedures, laws, and precedent court decisions concerning the admissibility of evidence, constitutional rights, search and seizure, and related issues in the conduct of investigations.”

And the 1712 “covers positions concerned with administration, supervision, training program development, evaluation, or instruction in a program of training when the paramount requirement of the work is a combination of practical knowledge of the methods and techniques of instruction and practical knowledge of the subject-matter being taught. Positions in this series do not have either a paramount requirement of professional knowledge and training in the field of education, or mastery of a trade, craft, or laboring occupation. ”

The 1811 and 1712 position descriptions do not detail the need to comply with the Directive 0730. In fact, one of the 1811 PDs has a hand written note that the incumbent will carry firearms and must have an annual physical and psychological assessment on an annual basis (how did carrying a firearm get neglected from the publication of the PD?). The 1712 PD barely mentions a Special Agent duty and responsibility – although the 1712-11 includes criminal investigator prominently in the Major Duties and Responsibility section.

Further driving home there are only the two possibilities for not releasing a record of criminal investigatory work is that the 0730 Handbook describes how investigations are to be conducted, recorded and filed. So again, the 1811’s whose primary job is investigations and 1712’s who hold this secondary responsibility either have never conducted a criminal investigation or there is no record of their investigation assignments. The position description details undercover, surveillance, and other overt and covert work encompassing long “arduous hours,” so surely there is something somewhere that should have been available for release if the duty was actually being performed.

According to OPM the 0340 career series “covers all classes of positions the duties of which are to manage or direct, or to assist in a line capacity in managing or directing, one or more programs, including appropriate supporting service organizations, when the paramount qualification requirement of the positions is management and executive knowledge and ability and when the positions do not require competence in specialized subject matter or functional area.  (Positions in which specialized subject matter or functional competence is a necessary qualification requirement are classifiable to whichever specialized or general series is most appropriate.)

For OS&LE and LETC, a 0340 position is a program manager, a special agent, and a criminal investigator 12 VA Release (8).  A gun carrying VAPS manager (web-master?) and facilities manager AND a special agent conducting criminal investigations, going to court, and so on.  Really?

The Requests and Releases

 This is all the requests and releases.

 13 03 07 VA Acknowledgment 13 02 20 Request 13 02 11 VA Response 13 01 29 Request 13 01 29 Request (2) 13 01 25 VA Acknowledgment 13 01 16 Request (3) 13 01 16 Request (2) 13 01 16 Request (1) 12 VA Release (7) 12 VA Release (6) 12 VA Release (5) 12 VA Release (4) 12 VA Release (3) 12 VA Release (2) 12 VA Release (1) 12 18 10 Request 12 10 23 VA Response 12 10 18 Request 12 03 28 Request 12 02 22 VA Response 12 02 16 VA Acknowledgment 12 02 14 Request 12 02 13 Request 12 01 30 VA Response 12 01 19 VA Response 12 01 05 VA Acknowledgment 11 27 12 VA Response 11 12 15 VA Acknowledgment 11 12 05 Request (2) 11 12 05 Request (1) 12 01 30 VA Response 12 01 19 VA Response 11 12 05 Request 12 VA Release 12 VA Release (7) 12 VA Release (6) 12 VA Release (5) 12 VA Release (4) 12 VA Release (3) 12 VA Release (2) 12 VA Release 11 27 12 VA Response 11 01 19 VA Response 11 12 05 Request (2) 11 12 05 Request 13 05 15 VA Response 14 05 20 VA Response (2) 14 05 20 VA Response 14 06 04 VA Response