U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

 Audit Report

AUDIT OF COMMUNITY POLICING SERVICES

GRANTS TO THE BALTIMORE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT

GRANT NUMBERS 95DLBX0053, 95CCWX0458 AND 95CLWX0031

GR-30-98-001

December 5, 1997

Executive Summary

The Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division, has completed an audit of three grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), to the Baltimore County Police Department (the County). The County received grants of $1,725,000 to hire 23 officers under the Phase I program, $8,250,000 to hire 110 officers under the Universal Hiring Program (UHP), and $156,847 to redeploy officers and hire civilians under the COPS MORE program. The purpose of the funded officers is to enhance community policing efforts.

Our audit determined that:

- Costs charged to the grants were generally in accordance with grant requirements. However, the County did not document the time spent in community policing activity by officers redeployed through the hiring of civilians under the MORE grant, thus $156,847 is considered unallocable to the grant.

- Budgeted funds for law enforcement services and the number of authorized positions increased from FY 1993 through FY 1998. Also, the Police Department filled officer vacancies timely.

- The County did not have a formal plan to retain the grant funded positions. Yet, the County intended to make every effort to retain the positions once grant funds expire.

- The County submitted to COPS: the Department Initial Report, the Officer Progress Reports for 1995 and 1996, and the Annual Department Report for 1995 and 1996.

- The County submitted 23 of 25 required Financial Status Reports, 22 of those on a timely basis. The County submitted Financial Status Reports that overreported total program costs for the UHP grant and underreported total program costs for the COPS MORE grant.

- The County enhanced its community policing efforts using funds provided under the Phase I and UHP grants. The County assigned 133 officers in field operations to four new community policing activities.

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