More evidence that the watchers need watching

Source: By Joe Davidson, Washington Post, Wednesday, November 18, 2009

..... The GAO paints a scary picture of a federal agency that poorly supervises a security force largely composed of private guards. That supervision, or lack of it, is one point the House Committee on Homeland Security is set to take up at a Wednesday hearing on the FPS.

Another subject certain to arise is the overwhelming reliance on private contractors to protect federal facilities. There are about 15,000 private guards, compared with fewer than 1,000 federal law enforcement officers, in the FPS.

The appropriate balance of contract workers and federal employees is a matter of debate in many government venues. But clearly, there are times when protecting federal facilities is "inherently governmental" work -- the standard by which that balance should be judged.