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The Drug Enforcement Administration's
Control Over Weapons and Laptop Computers

Report No. 02-28
August 2002
Office of the Inspector General


APPENDIX X

    U.S. Department of Justice
Drug Enforcement Agency


 
    JUL 22 2002
 
MEMORANDUM
 
TO: Guy K. Zimmerman
Assistant Inspector General for Audit
U.S. Department of Justice
 
 
FROM: Asa Hutchinson (original signed)
Administrator
 
 
SUBJECT: Comments on the Audit Report, "The Drug Enforcement Administration's Control Over Weapons and Laptop Computers"

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reviewed the Office of the inspector General's (OIG) final draft report The Drug Enforcement Administration's Control Over Weapons and Laptop Computers. The technical report comments, including language and factual corrections, were provided on July 2, 2002, in a memorandum to Dan Strohl, Regional Audit Manager.

The DEA provides the following comments regarding the draft report. Overall, DEA concurs with the findings and recommendations made by the OIG. The OIG recognizes the extensive actions that DEA has taken to manage ins inventories for weapons and laptop computers. The OIG notes that the DEA had previously identified problems with its inventory systems and that efforts were underway to address issues well in advance of the initiation of the DOJ-wide audit.

DEA has been proactive in addressing the concerns raised by the OIG audit and continues to take actions to improve the management of its sensitive property. The OIG's recommendations in the report primarily reflect actions recommended by the DEA ort that DEA was in the process of implementing. The internal control weaknesses noted in the audit report had been identified by DEA prior to the OIG's audit and DEA management had initiated actions to address these inventory concerns.

This draft audit report contains 22 recommendations for DEA action. The DEA has developed a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to address all of the OIG's recommendations (attached). Each recommendation is addressed and corrective actions and scheduled completion dates have been established. The DEA has completed several actions since the completion of the OIG's on-site audit in November 2001. The DEA requests that the OIG close Recommendations 1, 4, 8 and 15, based on the CAP and the supporting documentation of completed corrective actions.

The CAP contains target due dates for the completion of the remaining open recommendations. DEA will continue to provide the OIG with documentation upon completion of the corrective actions.

In addition, the DEA requests modifications to the final report on the following points.

The DEA is please that the OIG has recognized DEA's extensive efforts and adopted DEA's recommendation for the improvement of its property accountability. The DEA will continue to maintain its diligence and improve its controls over sensitive property.

Attachment

Corrective Action Plan