The Department of Homeland Security released an executive summary of its report on the Secret Service moments ago. The report recommends that the U.S. government replace the entire fence surrounding the perimeter of the White House.
The report was drafted after a fence-jumper made it into the White House in September, prompting a congressional hearing and the resignation of Secret Service Director Julia Pierson.
Officials for the DHS declined to say in the report “precisely what the optimal new fence should look like,” but offered some suggestions.
“A number of common-sense improvements should be explored. For sure, the fence must be taller; even an increase of four or five feet would be materially helpful,” the report reads, calling for the fence to be manipulated to include “curvature outward” at the top of the fence to make it more difficult to scale.
Currently, the report notes, “‘pranksters’ and the mentally ill” can easily jump the fence, forcing the Secret Service to make a decision about the use of lethal force. “By deterring these more frivolous threats, a more effective fence can minimize the instances when such difficult decision making is required,” the report notes.
The report specifically recommends that the U.S. replace the entire fence surrounding the 18 acres of the White House.
“The current seven-and-a-half-foot fence, not just along Pennsylvania Avenue but around the compound’s entire perimeter, must be replaced as quickly as possible,” the report details.
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