Return to the USDOJ/OIG Home Page

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
Grants to the Township of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania Police Department

GR-70-00-013
March 10, 2000
Office of the Inspector General


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division, has completed an audit of grants awarded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to the Township of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, Police Department (Lower Merion). The purpose of the grants is to enhance community policing. Lower Merion was awarded a total of $975,000 to hire 13 new police officers and $331,645 to redeploy the equivalent of 41.3 full-time officers to community policing.

We reviewed Lower Merion's compliance with eight essential grant conditions. Lower Merion complied with five conditions, including budgeting for officers, local matching funds, hiring of officers, retention of officers, and performance of community policing activities. We found weaknesses in three other areas as identified below. As a result, we question $10,631 and recommend an additional $321,014 be put to better use.1

These items are discussed in greater detail in the Findings and Recommendations section of the report. Our audit objectives, scope, and methodology appear in Appendix I.


Footnote

1. The Inspector General Act of 1988 contains our reporting requirements for questioned costs and funds to better use. However, not all of our findings are dollar-related. See Appendix III for a breakout of our dollar-related findings and definitions of questioned costs and funds to better use.