In March 2020, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and began developing robust protocols to respond to and mitigate COVID-19 at its Glynco training facility. Before reopening in June 2020, FLETC created a formal plan to resume in-person training. Through this plan, along with other policies and procedures, FLETC established protocols in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance and medical expertise. DHS students and component officials we spoke with confirmed that these protocols were in place and told us that, overall, they were effective. As a result of its mitigation measures, FLETC’s rate of positive COVID-19 tests was lower than that of its surrounding county. However, DHS students and component officials also raised concerns related to students not following certain requirements such as mask wearing. In instances such as these, FLETC largely relied on students’ home agencies to act to reinforce compliance with safety protocols among their students, or to take disciplinary action if necessary.

We also found, however, that FLETC did not always follow its own protocols for housing assignments related to COVID-19. Our analysis of housing records for a sample of 20 DHS students at the Glynco training facility found issues with housing assignments for half the students. For example, some students who were not positive for COVID-19 or were not quarantined for exposure to COVID-19 were still housed in the isolation dormitory. Some of the students who were incorrectly assigned to the isolation dormitory told us that they did not feel safe.