Press Releases

Comptroller reveals that the Department of Public Safety did not form the Medical Evaluation Board or the Executive Security Committee as provided by law

The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR) issued a qualified opinion on the fiscal operations of the Department of Public Safety. A qualified opinion is issued when the noncompliances, individually or together, are significant but not pervasive.

The Report reveals that the Department of Public Safety did not designate the officials who would make up the Medical Evaluation Board, established by Act 20-2017, which created the Department. This Board is responsible for recommending applications for physical disability retirement, determining the aptitude and physical condition of candidates for police officers, firefighters, and emergency technicians, as well as providing counseling for situations that affect the emotional stability of employees.

Instead, the Department contracted a company for $454 thousand to provide these services to a maximum of 500 employees, and to act as if it were the Board, from May 21 to December 31, 2024. Due to this situation, the Department did not have the information necessary to determine the aptitude and physical and mental condition of the candidates and employees required by the various functions of the bureaus.

The two-finding audit notes that the Department of Public Safety also did not establish the Executive Security Committee attached to the Office of the Governor, to work on the full integration of the Department and its bureaus. The auditors identified that from December 20, 2019, to February 8, 2022, the Committee was not established, 23 of the 26 progress reports that were to be submitted every 60 days to the governor and the Legislative Assembly were not prepared, and the three reports prepared were not remitted to the Office of the Governor.

On the other hand, the officials in charge of property did not conduct a physical inventory upon the cessation of functions of the person in charge on June 27, 2022, had not established a registry of cases of losses and irregularities, and had not issued the property-in-use receipt for property valued at $636 thousand. These deficiencies prevent validating with certainty that the information and processes are correct, and that, should an irregularity be found, it can be detected in time.

The budget of the Department of Public Safety was $82.5 million from 2022 to 2024, and it made disbursements for $68.6 million.

The Department of Public Safety is composed of the following bureaus: Fire Department, Emergency Medical Corps, Special Investigations, Puerto Rico Police, Emergency Management and Disaster Administration, and the 911 Emergency System.

The audit covers the period from November 1, 2017, to December 31, 2023.

Audit Report OC-25-65 is available on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr.