Terrorism expertsFBI still short on terrorism experts

A report by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) says that the FBI is still facing difficulties staffing its Counterterrorism Division (CTD).   

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack, FBI launched a hiring campaign which saw the hiring of thousands of additional staff. Within a short time, the agency’s staff was increased by 38 percent.

The Examiner reports that these efforts notwithstanding, in 2005 the FBI reported that nearly 40 percent of the positions in parts of Counterterrorism Division (CTD) were vacant.

The latest GAO report, the unclassified version of which release two weeks ago, describes “the extent to which counterterrorism vacancies existed at FBI HQ since 2005 and the reasons for the vacancies as well as the impact of the strategies implemented by the FBI to address these vacancies.”

The report notes: “From fiscal years 2005 through 2011, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s human capital strategies contributed to reductions in the vacancy rate for all positions in the Counterterrorism Division (CTD) from 26 percent to 6 percent. Most vacancies were caused by transfers to other parts of the FBI. While overall vacancies declined, trends in vacancies varied by position. For example, vacancies for special agents and professional staff generally decreased each year while vacancies for intelligence analysts varied during the same time period.”

To address the shortfall in staffing, the FBI, in 2005, created its Headquarters Staffing Initiative (HSI). The GAO estimates that since 2006, the FBI has spent $50 million to staff CTD with special agents under HSI. According to the FBI, “HSI is the primary reason agent vacancies in CTD were reduced. In addition, FBI officials said HSI yielded other benefits.”

— Read more in “Vacancies Have Declined, but FBI Has Not Assessed the Long-Term Sustainability of Its Strategy for Addressing Vacancies,” (Washington, D.C.: GAO, April 2012)