Capitol Hill security forces will be able to report problems anonymously to House committee
By Whitney Wild, CNN
Members of Capitol Hill security will be able to file whistleblower complaints about potential wrongdoing directly to a congressional committee, Rep. Rodney Davis announced on Monday.
The Illinois Republican serves as the ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, one of four that oversee the US Capitol Police and one of two overseeing the House sergeant-at-arms.
The online form is intended to give House security employees and Capitol Police officers an avenue for anonymous tips.
“By creating this confidential outlet for officers and security personnel to report issues, our committee will be able to better understand problems with Congress’ security structure and address them,” the committee said in a statement.
Following the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, several officers have chosen to speak out anonymously about a lack of preparedness, their disappointment in leadership and friction with members of Congress and their staff members.
“I know not every rank-and-file officer or employee is comfortable with speaking out publicly about these issues, but it’s important we hear from them and this provides a confidential way for them to do that,” Davis said in a statement. “We’ve needed greater transparency and accountability within our security system for a long time and hopefully this will help.”
Several Capitol Police inspector general reports as well as the Senate Homeland Security Committee report into January 6 extracted valuable information about security failings from interviews with rank-and-file officers whose identities have not been disclosed publicly.
CNN also recently reported that following the riot, the department’s Office of Professional Responsibility was flooded with tips from officers about alleged misconduct among the ranks. Dozens of officers were investigated, and disciplinary action was recommended in six cases.
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