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FEDERAL PROTECTIVE OFFICER
Duties of the Job
Federal Protective Officers are uniformed, armed personnel who are authorized to enforce all laws and
regulations that pertain to protection of life and property and who have powers of arrest and seizure in
locations under the control of the General Services Administration. To maintain law and order and to
preserve the peace on federal property, officers use a number of security and enforcement techniques.
Some assignments involve patrol of assigned areas on foot, in vehicles, or on roving patrols to probe
parking areas, loading platforms, building interiors, and public entrances for evidence of trespass or
hazardous conditions. Other officers are assigned to fixed posts or control desks where they monitor and
regulate such equipment as automated security and fire-protection systems and devices such as intrusion
alarms, electronic sensing instruments, and entry-control devices. Monitoring telephone and radio
communications within the location, relaying messages, keeping logs, and helping to dispatch personnel
and equipment in cases of emergency are other duties. Officers assigned to entrance-control posts are
responsible for examining personnel identification credentials, issuing keys, controlling access to various
locations, and conducting patrols of the building complex. In some cases, officers are given traffic-control
posts where they control and direct pedestrian and vehicular traffic, investigate and report accidents, and
issue citations for violations of the law.
In protecting federal properties and their occupants, Federal Protective Officers are trained and ready
to act in emergency situations such as fires, explosions, civil disorders, bomb threats, natural disasters,
and potential or actual attack by enemies of the United States. To cope with incidents like these, officers
follow established plans of action under the direction of supervisory personnel. In cases of fire or
explosion, for example, they utilize standardized firefighting control methods and evacuation procedures
to reduce danger to life and property and to facilitate the safe removal of occupants from buildings.
In addition to responsibilities of protection, Federal Protective Officers have enforcement responsi-
bilities as well. These duties entail preventing specified crimes on federal property, enforcing laws and
regulations, and apprehending persons committing illegal acts. The crimes with which they are concerned
are felonies and misdemeanors. A felony is a crime punishable by death or by imprisonment in a
penitentiary for more than one year. A misdemeanor is a lesser offense punishable by fine or by
confinement in a jail or workhouse for one year or less. Some examples of felonies include murder,
manslaughter, robbery, burglary, arson, mayhem, malicious destruction, sabotage, and espionage.
Misdemeanors include breaches of the peace, assault, disorderly conduct, riot, unlawful assembly, and
petit larceny.
When any of these crimes is committed or incidents occur that disrupt the normal conduct of
government business, Federal Protective Officers take action. These officers may be at the scene in mobile
response units or in special tactical forces dispatched to the trouble spot. At the scene, they conduct a
preliminary investigation, gather information from witnesses or victims, if any, and prepare a report of
findings. In cases of injury, officers may administer first-aid or lifesaving assistance to victims. If Federal
Protective Officers respond to a crime in progress, they may pursue, apprehend, and arrest those engaged
in the illegal activities. Officers are authorized to use whatever force is needed, including firearms, to
carry out their responsibilities. They do not enforce any laws outside their jurisdiction; they leave such
matters to the appropriate local or federal police agency.
Federal Protective Officers may be called upon to testify as witnesses or arresting officers in a case.
They must be prepared to inform the court of pertinent facts surrounding the case and to provide such
information as the time, date, place, and identity of persons involved in the incident.
