Fact Check: Police agencies will also be required to comply with audits by the secretary of state to mark trends or upticks in certain requests.

Fact Check: "Police agencies will also be required to comply with audits by the secretary of state to mark trends or upticks in certain requests."

What We Know

The claim suggests that police agencies will be mandated to undergo audits by the secretary of state to identify trends or increases in specific requests. However, the available sources do not provide direct evidence supporting this assertion.

The Audit Report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) discusses the efficiency of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office and its collaboration with the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). While it highlights the importance of audits and compliance in the context of federal funding and grant management, it does not specifically mention audits conducted by the secretary of state or the requirement for police agencies to comply with such audits.

Another source, the Audit Report on the Automated Law Enforcement System, focuses on the Bureau of Indian Affairs' automated law enforcement system and its compliance with federal reporting requirements. This report does not address the claim directly and instead emphasizes the need for effective communication and compliance with federal guidelines.

Analysis

The claim lacks direct support from credible sources. The OIG report acknowledges the importance of audits in enhancing operational efficiency and ensuring compliance with federal guidelines, but it does not establish a requirement for police agencies to be audited by the secretary of state specifically for tracking trends in requests.

The reliability of the sources is generally high, as they come from government entities that conduct audits and evaluations of law enforcement practices. However, the absence of explicit language regarding the secretary of state's role in auditing police agencies raises questions about the validity of the claim.

Furthermore, the context of audits in the cited reports primarily revolves around grant management and compliance with federal standards rather than state-level auditing requirements. This suggests that while audits are a critical component of law enforcement oversight, the specific claim about the secretary of state's involvement is not substantiated.

Conclusion

Needs Research. The claim that police agencies will be required to comply with audits by the secretary of state to mark trends or upticks in certain requests is not supported by the available evidence. While audits are an essential part of law enforcement oversight, the specific requirement mentioned in the claim lacks direct citation from credible sources. Further investigation into state-level auditing practices and regulations would be necessary to clarify this issue.

Sources

1. Audit Report
2. Audit Report on the Automated Law Enforcement System
3. An Audit Report on Management Controls at the ...
4. sos-chief-risk-audits-and-investigations
5. 2023 – 2024 Annual Report on Audits of State Agencies and ...
6. Audit says D.C. police patrol sufficiently staffed, drawing ...
7. landscape of police auditing in the USA: the state of the art
8. State Department ranks high in audit of online records rule