Federal Building and Facility Security
"The security of federal government buildings and facilities affects not only the daily
operations of the federal government but also the health, well-being, and safety of federal employees and the public. Recent congressional action concerning the security of federal
buildings includes P.L. 111-83 (FY2010 appropriations for the Department of Homeland
Security), which addressed the issue of the transfer of the Federal Protective Service
from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the National Protection and Programs Directorate.

For the purposes of this report, federal facilities include any building leased or owned by
the General Services Administration. In FY2007, the federal government’s real property
portfolio comprised 446,000 buildings with an area of 3.3 billion square feet and a
replacement value of $772.8 billion.

Security of federal facilities includes physical security assets such as closed-circuit
television cameras, barrier material, and security guards (both federally employed and contracted). Federal facility security practices have been subject to criticism by
government auditors and security experts. Elements that have received criticism include
the use of private security guards, the management and security practices of the Federal Protective Service, and the coordination of federal facility security."