WASHINGTON -- The Secret Service "is stretched to and, in many cases, beyond its limits" and needs to hire 85 agents and 200 officers to sufficiently perform its mission, according to a report released Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security.
The report also said that the fence surrounding the White House must be "changed as soon as possible" and made at least 4 feet taller.
The agency is "starved" for strong leaders, and its next director must be an outsider who would be "removed from organizational traditions and personal relationships" and "will be able to do the honest top-to-bottom assessment this will require," the report states.
The report was completed by four former senior White House and federal law enforcement officials for Jeh Johnson, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He ordered the review in September after the Secret Service failed to stop a man who climbed over the fence and made his way through the front door of the White House before he was apprehended.
In a written statement, Johnson said that the report was "astute, thorough and fair" and that the Secret Service's interim director, Joseph Clancy, had already made several changes.
Agents and officers who protect the White House work far too many hours, the report also states, adding that money that could go toward new technology systems is often used to pay overtime.
The agency's current training is significantly diminished, and in 2013 agency data showed that the average officer received about 25 minutes of training.
A Section on 12/19/2014