U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Audit Report

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

Grant to the

City of East Point, Georgia, Police Department

Grant No. 95-CF-WX-0610

GR-40-99-006

December 1998

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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, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), to the City of East Point, Georgia, Police Department (grantee). The grantee received a $192,303 grant to hire or rehire three additional sworn officers under the Funding Accelerated for Smaller Towns (FAST) program. The grantee also received $885,230 in supplements to the FAST grant to hire or rehire an additional 15 officers under the Universal Hiring Program (UHP) program. The grantee was awarded an additional $177,048 UHP supplement for three officers on August 14, 1998, but had not accepted the award. The purpose of the grants for the additional officers is to enhance community policing efforts.

In brief, our audit determined the grantee:

• Claimed and was reimbursed $93,088 in salaries and fringe benefits for which no supporting documentation existed.
  
  
• Claimed and was reimbursed $97,000 for the local share of salaries and fringe benefits that should have been paid with the grantee's matching funds.
  
  
• Claimed and was reimbursed $179,551 in salaries and fringe benefits for ineligible officers.
  
  
• Supplanted $98,752 in local funds with COPS funds under the FAST and UHP programs.
  
  
• Submitted inaccurate monitoring reports to COPS and incorrectly reported total program outlays and the Federal share of outlays to the Office of Justice Programs.

These items are discussed in the FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS section of the report. Our audit scope and methodology appear in Appendix II.

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