National monuments such as the Statue of Liberty or the Lincoln Memorial do not benefit from an adequate security, a governmental report released on Monday stated. The Interior Department’s Inspector General Earl Devaney accused the Park Police of failing to protect the monuments, finding sleeping police officers, absent guards and an overall lack of interest.

The report accuses the Park Police that “despite having increased security and law enforcement responsibilities since the events of September 11, 2001, USPP’s staffing levels are lower now than they were 6 years ago” and that they have shown “an overall lack of commitment to its icon security responsibilities.”

Devaney included reviews on 100 U.S. Park Police officers and surveillance of several New York and Washington monuments, uncovering a deficient security and “instability to effectively conduct police operations.”  Moreover, the report includes a photograph of what appears to be a sleeping officer at the Jefferson Memorial.

The release of such a report came as a reaction to surprise visits the Inspector General made to several monuments. Devaney found no adequate security personnel for several hours and at least 25 percent of the surveillance cameras were not functional at the Statue of Liberty and officers reading newspapers and chatting on their cell phone at the Washington Monument.  

The Park Police response was they respected the findings of the report, but not all of the claims were true. Park Police Chief Dwight Pettiford said the situation is not as bad as it has been said, and that the monuments were still standing, and they department was proud of the police officers in charge of guarding them.

At the same time, he responded to the accusations of the same report that he hasn’t paid any visit to the New York office for the past four years through a spokesman, saying he had been to New York twice in the past one year and a half, and moreover, as long as he is in charge, the Police Park will continue its progress.