U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

 

Audit Report

 

OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES

ROSEBUD SIOUX POLICE DEPARTMENT

ROSEBUD, SOUTH DAKOTA

 AUDIT REPORT NUMBER

GR-80-98-007

JANUARY 15, 1998

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

The Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division, has completed an audit of the grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), to the Rosebud Sioux Police Department, Rosebud, South Dakota. The Rosebud Sioux Police Department received a grant of $1,728,680 to hire or rehire 20 sworn police officers under the Universal Hiring Program (UHP). The purpose of the additional officers is to enhance community policing efforts.

Due to the supplanting of grant funds, we are questioning $427,357, which was the amount of funds received by the Rosebud Sioux Police Department at the time of our audit. Also, based on the supplanting of grant funds, sworn officer position vacancies, and lack of community policing, the remaining $1,301,323 in grant funds should be withheld as funds to better use.

We found the following weaknesses with regard to meeting the grant conditions:

- Requests of reimbursement and advance included unallowable year-end bonuses totaling $2,395.

- The number of positions budgeted decreased by 19 during FYs 1996 and 1997, supplanted by the grant funded positions.

- Efforts to fill vacant officer positions have not been successful. Additionally, it appears that grant funded positions are not filled before locally funded positions.

- No formal written provisions had been made to retain the 20 police officer positions upon the expiration of the grant.

- The Rosebud Sioux Police Department did not submit the required Departmental Initial Report, Officer Progress Reports, and Annual Department Report to the COPS office.

- Financial Status Reports were not submitted or were not submitted in a timely manner.

- Total program outlays and the federal share of outlays were overstated by $2,813 in the most recent Financial Status Report submitted to OJP.

- The Rosebud Sioux Police Department had not implemented any of the community policing activities described in its grant application.

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