Feinstein calls for chief to work on morale

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called on the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police to ensure strong morale within his department on Wednesday.

“We don’t want an adversarial relationship within the department,” said Feinstein at a Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing. “I very much hope that the chief [of police] will take some action to improve interaction.”

{mosads}Feinstein’s comments come in the wake of a survey in which more than 300 officers expressed their dissatisfaction with Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse’s leadership.

Morse said he was open to increasing dialogue with officers and labor union officials and that he did not take their complaints personally.

“If I need to do a better job of communicating changes, then that’s what I’ll do,” Morse said. “It isn’t about me, it’s about the institution. I don’t sit around and think about what people think about me.”

Matt Tighe, the chairman of the Capitol Police labor union, testified that a lack of communication between departmental management and officers was at the heart of the department’s discord and that, if it was not addressed, the force would not be able to protect the Capitol effectively.

“A demoralized police force is incapable of effectively achieving the goals and missions of the department,” Tighe said. “Specifically, the officers’ anguish stems from a breakdown in communication, accountability and leadership, which has sown doubt and distrust.”

Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), ranking member of the committee, asked Tighe why he had not mentioned the discord within the department during his testimony at a House Administration Committee hearing in May.

Tighe replied that the promotion of several officials to key managerial positions during that time period gave officers hope that departmental relations would mature. But, he said, they did not.

“There was a lot of hope that things were going to improve,” he said Wednesday. “But now they’ve lost faith in the direction the department’s heading.”

Committee members also held a closed session with Morse to discuss the removal of the director of the Capitol Police’s human resources department last month.

Former director Jennifer McCarthy was placed on administrative leave after it was revealed that two classes of police recruits did not undergo criminal background checks or psychological evaluations.

Fifteen of the recruits were subsequently told they would not be hired by the department. Eight of them are appealing the decision.

Currently, both the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which Feinstein chairs, and the House Administration Committee must approve all recommended Capitol Police hires.

But Feinstein proposed to rid the committees of this role and to entrust the Capitol Police Board, which is made up of the Architect of the Capitol and the Senate and House sergeants at arms, with the department’s hiring.

“I believe [the hiring rule] to be a mistake, and I’ll be seeking a bill to give the authority to the Capitol Police Board,” Feinstein said.

The hearing also revealed signs of progress for Capitol Police. An official with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified that police had made “significant progress” towards resolving issues GAO has raised over the past four years.

In addition, Morse said he expects by the end of the year to have filled 31 civilian job vacancies, including 10 within the Office of Financial Management, a department that has received scrutiny in the past for its inadequate financial reports.

Feinstein also said she was considering including money in an emergency supplemental bill if necessary to pay for a $70 million Capitol Police radio system.

“This is a key priority for the department,” she said. “[The system] is limited and insecure and unacceptable.”

Currently, the system does not operate in certain areas, such as basements, and it is unencrypted, making it possible for anyone with an inexpensive scanner to listen to the department’s communications.

Bennett and Feinstein agreed that addressing these issues within the department was imperative to ensure protection from an attack, which they said was all but inevitable.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the United States Capitol is one of the top, if not the No. 1, terrorist targets in this country,” Feinstein said.