U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Audit Report

OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES

BATON ROUGE POLICE DEPARTMENT

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

GR-80-98-020

June 18, 1998

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 The Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division, has completed an audit of the grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Police Department. The Police Department received a Making Officer Redeployment Effective (MORE) '95 grant for $1,197,540 to purchase equipment and to redeploy 60 officers and a MORE '96 grant for $165,000 to redeploy an additional 13.9 officers under the COPS MORE program. The purpose of the grants is to enhance community policing efforts.

Equipment and software was purchased with funds from a MORE '95 grant which expired September 30, 1997, and no further extensions have been requested or granted. The Police Department had not completed the installation of all the mobile data equipment, and the automated reporting system was not fully implemented. Redeployment of the 60 officers had not occurred, and a plan to document the redeployment had not been developed. Therefore, we are questioning grant funds received totaling $858,413. Additionally, the Baton Rouge Police Department received $339,127 for costs incurred in excess of the allowable Federal share. We are recommending that those funds be returned. Lastly, the MORE '96 grant for $165,000 expired March 31, 1998, without any requests for reimbursement; therefore, we recommend those funds be deobligated.

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

- The Baton Rouge Police Department received $339,127 in excess of the allowable Federal share of the MORE '95 grant.

- The MORE '95 grant expired and the Police Department had not redeployed any officers or developed a plan to document the redeployment.

- The MORE '96 grant for $165,000 expired without any requests for reimbursement. As in the first grant, the Police Department did not have a plan to track the redeployment of officers.

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