Police Force Improvements Promised

A top official vowed yesterday to turn around the troubled U.S. Park Police, which is under fire for inadequately protecting national monuments in New York and Washington.

Mary A. Bomar, the National Park Service director, told a House subcommittee that a damning report by the Interior Department inspector general this month "demands my prompt and decisive action."

That report said the Park Police were understaffed, poorly trained and badly equipped, leaving such icons as the Washington Monument and Statue of Liberty at risk.

Appearing at a budget hearing, Bomar promised an "action plan" to improve leadership, officer safety and financial transparency at the police agency, which is part of the Park Service.

"I will devote the necessary resources to putting a team in place to work with the Park Police" to correct the problems, Bomar said. She did not offer details.

The number of officers in the Park Police dropped to 576 in January, a 20-year low, according to official figures obtained by a watchdog group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Officers have told The Washington Post that six of the top 13 police positions are empty.

The Park Police have been stretched thin since Sept. 11, 2001, by expanded security duties that have not been matched by budget increases, according to officers and Interior Department officials.

The agency's problems have been aggravated by poor management, according to congressional staff and the Fraternal Order of Police labor committee representing Park Police. The union committee has called for the removal of Park Police Chief Dwight E. Pettiford.

Asked by a reporter whether Pettiford would stay on, Bomar said, "No comment."

In her testimony to the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, Bomar said she hopes to use a $4.8 million funding boost in 2009 to bring the Park Police up to 630 officers. Nine officers would be added in 2010, she said. The Park Police budget is about $85 million this year.

"The ball is in my court, and I take full responsibility for the actions needed," she said.

The District's congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), has called for the Park Police to be enlarged before the start of the cherry blossom season. She has requested hearings on the state of the force, which patrols many Washington parks and parkways in addition to protecting memorials.