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On Tuesday, August 2, 2022, the USPPFOP submitted testimony to the United States Department of the Interior Law Enforcement Task Force. The document that was submitted can be viewed below. Click on any page image of the document to view the PDF file.

While this testimony was submitted as a document from the Fraternal Order of Police- United States Park Police Labor Committee, for some reason, the document was listed on the regulations.gov site as, “Comment from Kenneth Spencer.” The “Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks” (CTPANP), a non-profit organization made up of mostly rangers, also had its comments listed as coming from an individual- Goto: “Comment from Michael B. Murray” to view their submission. The CTPANP is rightfully concerned about the NPS understaffing of its law enforcement ranger ranks. As they have maintained for many years, they are firmly against the idea of separating the law enforcement chain of command from the current NPS hierarchy- where Park Superintendents rule their parks with wide-ranging discretion. CTPANP refers to having a separate law enforcement command structure as “Stovepiping.” We will be addressing that topic in a future article.

Another organization, PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), had its comment listed as, “Comment from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).” The testimony from PEER concerns all law enforcement organizations within the DOI but addresses U. S. Park Police issues. PEER agrees that the USPP is severely understaffed and that the operational readiness of DOI Law Enforcement presents significant safety concerns. The comment period for this task force closed on August 2, 2022.

Information about the Task Force can be found at: https://doi.gov/oles/doi-law-enforcement -task-force and https://www.regulations.gov/document/DOI-2022-0008-0001

You can see all the comments submitted at: https://www.regulations.gov/document/DOI-2022-0008-0001/comment