Posted on December 16, 2021 by Heather Adams

PA Commission Improved Management of Law Enforcement Training Funds

by Office of the Pennsylvania Auditor General

PA Commission Improved Management of Law Enforcement Training Funds

Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor released an audit showing the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) has improved its management of two funds that pay for law enforcement training.

“Our audit shows PCCD has appropriately managed its law enforcement training program accounts,” DeFoor said. “The Commission has adopted the recommendations of our department’s last audit, which identified a need for stronger controls.”

PCCD manages two education and training accounts: one for sheriffs and deputy sheriffs; another for constables. A 2018 audit had identified a control weakness related to PCCD’s invoice processing for certain training expenditures. The new audit found PCCD adopted the 2018 report’s recommendations to strengthen its internal controls.

Both training accounts are supported by surcharges assessed by magisterial district courts, county courts and prothonotaries. Surcharge collections have lagged in recent years, but a state law to phase-in higher surcharge levels took effect last January.

The new audit also found PCCD owed counties more than $5.6 million in reimbursements for salaries that sheriffs and deputy sheriffs earned while attending mandatory training programs going back a number of years. A $2 million payment was recently approved to reimburse counties for salary costs from 2017 to 2019, and PCCD anticipates being able to make an additional payment in early 2022.

The audit also examined the First Chance Trust Fund, created by Act 44 of 2017 to help at-risk youth avoid becoming involved in the criminal justice system. The trust fund has had no financial activity due to how the authorizing law was written: the Department of Corrections had not yet awarded contracts exceeding $5 million annually, from which a 1% contribution is to be given to the trust fund.

“While some qualifying contracts are expected to be awarded relatively soon, our audit recommends that PCCD also work with the General Assembly to identify additional funding sources for the trust fund and, if necessary, amend the law,” DeFoor added.

Review the PCCD audit report and learn more about the Department of the Auditor General online at www.PaAuditor.gov.

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