NCJ Number
132920
Date Published
1991
Length
25 pages
Annotation
The General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed two law enforcement units of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to assess BIA's management of a confidential fund to pay for informants, overtime pay, travel advances, and sensitive equipment.
Abstract
The two units included the Marijuana Eradication and Reconnaissance Team (MERT) in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The GAO review found that BIA did not comply with Federal requirements regarding controls over appropriated funds and did not follow several required procedures for managing confidential funds, overtime pay, the issuance of travel advances, and the control of sensitive equipment. More specifically, BIA transferred funds to private bank accounts, a practice that is generally prohibited by Federal law, and did not return obligated funds to the U.S. Treasury at the end of each fiscal year. Further, BIA did not adequately account for and control the disbursement of these funds from bank accounts. BIA did not comply with Department of the Interior regulations on periodic reviews of administratively uncontrollable overtime paid to MERT and SIU employees. BIA also issued excessive travel advances to investigators and did not adjust or liquidate the advances as required by regulations. Finally, BIA did not properly control sensitive equipment such as weapons and surveillance devices. The GAO review concludes that both MERT and SIU are vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse and that internal controls over the units should be strengthened. Additional information on the GAO review is appended. 4 figures