Secret Service Took Over a Year to Replace Alarm System at Residence of George H.W. Bush

Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — The Secret Service, which has been the target of many pointed questions in recent years, took more than a year to replace an alarm system at the home of former president George H.W. Bush, a report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, released Thursday, said.

The alarms in question were inoperable for at least 13 months, the OIG said in the report. During that period, Secret Service protective detail created a roving post to secure Bush’s home, and no security breaches occurred. Still, the OIG says that it uncovered “problems with identifying, reporting, and tracking alarm system malfunctions, and with repairing and replacing alarm systems.”

Inspector General John Roth said in a press release that the Secret Service “will take action to address both recommendations in our report, aimed at correcting the overall process for tracking maintenance problems and also improving any specific security equipment that is currently in disrepair or in need of improvement.”

The recommendations made in the report included the evaluation of security equipment at all protectees’ personal residence and improve, repair or replace the equipment, and additionally evaluate the process by which tracking maintenance requests is handled.

Bush tweeted about the report on Thursday, saying that he has and always has had confidence in the Secret Service.

 

Barbara and I have great respect for, and confidence in, the men and women of @SecretService. That respect and confidence has never waned.

— George Bush (@GeorgeHWBush) April 23, 2015

 

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.