Retired Army Lieutenant General Russel Honore released a study on Capitol security following the Jan. 6 attack and briefed members of Congress Monday on his team’s findings and recommendations.
The House is expected to incorporate the Honor findings into a new funding bill to increase security on campus and pay for some of the expenses incurred after Jan. 6, such as National Guard deployments and cleaning costs. and repair.
Here are six key recommendations from your report:
More Capitol police officers
The report found that Capitol police were “understaffed, under-equipped and inadequately trained” to secure the Capitol and members on Jan. 6. He suggested filling all existing vacancies by force (about 233 officers) and adding 854 officers plus various functions, including as intelligence specialists, civil unrest units and dignitary protection officers.
If enacted, the additions would make the Capitol police force, which already has more than 2,000 officers, among the largest departments in the entire country.
To meet the Capitol’s security needs, officers worked nearly 720,000 overtime hours during fiscal year 2021, an “unsustainable” model for the advancing department.
In addition, the report recommended adding more K9 explosive smelling units to help Capitol police search for explosive devices in the Capitol complex, due to the number of vacant units and “aged” dogs. He also suggested re-establishing the department’s mounted unit – which was disbanded in 2005 – to serve as a “force multiplier” in areas with high traffic to help control crowds.
The report also recommends better training of officers on police tactics, as well as more leadership development opportunities.
The Honor team recommended the use of body cameras “to improve police accountability and protect officers from false allegations of misconduct” and more support for the intelligence service for the department.
New fast response team
The report called for the creation of a permanent Rapid Reaction Force to assist Capitol Police and other DC police agencies in responding to district crises and future Capitol Hill emergencies, comprised of federal police officers or a military police battalion under command. of the DC National Guard.
The report also recommends the creation of civil protection units within the Capitol police to be kept on hold when Congress is in session and for all officers to receive training in civil unrest and their own riot gear to use. them in emergency situations.
More barriers around the Capitol?
The report recommends a “mobile fencing option” that can be assembled and removed quickly, rather than the temporary fencing that currently surrounds the Capitol that requires a “significant” number of personnel to patrol.
A retractable locking system and a more integrated system of cameras, sensors and alarms could “enable an open campus, while offering security forces better options to protect the complex and its members in the event of a threat,” he said. write the review team in the report.
Adjusting the chain of command
The report found that the decision-making process of the Capitol Police Board “proved too slow and cumbersome” to respond effectively on January 6, when National Guard troops took hours to arrive at the Capitol Police Station. Capitol to help police clean Congress halls. It was recommended that the Capitol police chief seek the assistance of federal law enforcement and the National Guard in the event of an emergency, without the prior need for the council’s signature: an opaque body of four people including the chief, the architect of the Capitol, and the sergeants of arms of the House and Senate, who are appointed by the leaders of Congress.
The report also recommends an “independent review” of the effectiveness of the Capitol Police Board’s “authority” over the department.
Background checks and more difficult access points
The Honor team recommended renewing the selection procedures used on campus for legislative staff and Congressional employees.
“Requiring backgrounds for ID card holders and employing card readers more broadly across the complex would decrease the risks of privileged threat and increase the security of all members, staff and legislative employees,” according to the report .
The report also suggested repairing and securing the doors and windows around the Capitol that riot police used to break into the building and erect projection portals for staff and visitors to the complex to facilitate surveillance of visitors who wanted to enter the Capitol police. building.
Rethinking the safety of members
Noting the growing number of threats to members of Congress, the report recommends expanding the ranks of the Dignity Protection Division to better protect lawmakers at home and in Washington. Currently, only members of management have full-time security data.
The report also recommended the creation of a new office to “centrally manage” legislators ’travel from their districts to the Capitol, in coordination with states and local police officers.
Prior to the report’s release, Republicans have criticized the appointment of Honorary House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to conduct the review, noting her increasingly partisan tone on Twitter and attacks on republicans.
“While there are some recommendations worthy of publication, General Honore’s notorious partisan bias calls into question the rationality of appointing him to lead this important security review,” the Republican leader said in a statement on Sunday. Democratic country, Kevin McCarthy, R-California. “It also raises the unacceptable possibility that the president wanted a certain outcome: to turn the Capitol into a fortress.”