Title V — Oversight and Investigations Matters

Definition of the role, responsibilities, and legal authority of the Inspector General of the Department and the duties of employees of the Department for engaging with the Office of Inspector General.

Identification of Federal whistleblower protection rights, including the right to report fraud, waste, abuse, and other wrongdoing to Congress.

Identification of the circumstances and mechanisms for reporting fraud, waste, abuse, and other wrongdoing to the Inspector General, including making confidential complaints to the Inspector General.

Identification of the prohibitions and remedies that help to protect employees of the Department from retaliation when reporting wrongdoing to the Inspector General.

Recognition of opportunities to engage with staff of the Office of Inspector General to improve programs, operations, and services of the Department.

Notification of the authority of the Inspector General to subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses, including former employees of the Department, as necessary to carry out the duties of the Office of Inspector General under section 312 of title 38, United States Code.

The roles and responsibilities of the employees of the Department when engaging with the Office of Inspector General.

The availability of training provided under subsection (a).

How to access training provided under subsection (a).

Information about how to contact the Office of Inspector General, including a link to any website-based reporting form of the Office.

the type and frequency of criminal activity experienced at the covered facility during the fiscal year which most recently concluded including whether or not the criminal activity was related to residents at the facility or campus such as those in a residential rehabilitation treatment program or enhanced-use lease facility;

the number of vacancies and number of days vacant for Department police officers at the covered facility at the time of the survey delineated by recruitment status and stage;

the availability and adequacy of covered equipment;

the availability and adequacy of resources, classes, or other time set aside for training Department police officers who work at each covered facility about any skill or tactic related to law enforcement, including the proper use of force, firearms qualifications and training, procedures for responding to an active threat, and any other training required for Department police officers;

any security weakness at covered facilities;

the relationship between the covered facility (including the Department police officers who work at the covered facility) and local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies including what agreements or memorandums of understanding exist between each covered facility and external law enforcement agencies;

efforts by the personnel of the covered facility to address and reduce criminal activity at, or in close proximity to, the covered facility; and

recommendations for the Secretary to better address and reduce criminal activity at, or in close proximity to, covered facilities so as to improve the safety of veterans, employees, visitors, other authorized personnel, and the surrounding community.

the results of the annual survey described under subsection (a) for the year covered by the report;

an analysis, made in coordination with the Director of the Office of Security and Law Enforcement of such Department, each director and police chief of a Veterans Integrated Service Network, and the directors and police chiefs of the medical centers within the Veterans Integrated Service Network of the results of the triannual security inspections conducted in prior fiscal year, to include a plan of action that describes how the Secretary plans to address any security weakness identified in the results of the triannual security inspections and includes clearly-stated goals with measurable benchmarks for each goal and deadlines for each benchmark; and

a list of all vacant positions for police chief or deputy police chief at each covered facility during the prior fiscal year, the number of individuals who filled those positions over the two years prior to the date of the survey, the number of days the positions were vacant without someone serving in an acting capacity, and the number of days the positions were filled by individuals serving in an acting capacity.

The term “covered equipment” means any item issued by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to a Department police officer (including firearms, weapons detecting technology, ballistic vests, body-worn cameras, and radios) for use in the provision of services under section 902 of title 38, United States Code.

The term “covered employee” means an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who is employed and responsible for security operations at a covered facility including a covered facility’s police chief, facility emergency management leader, facility director, or person carrying out the responsibilities of one of these positions in an acting capacity.

The term “covered facility” means any facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs where Department police officers have jurisdiction.

The term “Department police officer” is used as such term as used in section 902 of title 38, United States Code.

The term “security weakness” means a deficiency in the facilities, staffing, or covered equipment at a covered facility that a covered employee of the covered facility determines presents a risk to the safety of visitors or staff, including an unsecured door, inoperable security camera, unsecured police operations room, a lack of security presence at an entrance to the covered facility, and a lack of security presence in an area of the covered facility or the grounds of the covered facility that the director of the covered facility determines requires an increased security presence.