This report reviews the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) efforts to combat violent crime and drug trafficking in public housing through Operation Safe Home. GAO found that Operation Safe Home lacks the necessary information systems and management controls to ensure that HUD’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) can readily monitor the obligation and expenditure of funds and track the numbers of arrests and convictions. As a result, the OIG cannot reliably allocate program resources or accurately estimate its funding needs. Furthermore, in the absence of complete, consistent, or accurate information, the OIG cannot Congress with reliable and supportable information on Operation Safe Home’s accomplishments. The OIG recognizes the need for more effective management controls within Operation Safe Home and has begun to address the problem. These actions, once implemented, should help the OIG to allocate resources more effectively, better estimate future funding needs, and more accurately measure and report the program’s accomplishments. However, GAO remains concerned about OIG’s long-term involvement in Operation Safe Home. The OIG cannot independently and impartially audit or investigate Operation Safe Home, and may not be perceived as impartial when auditing other similar HUD programs. For these reasons, Operation Safe Home raises questions about the OIG’s ability to independently audit and investigate HUD programs designed to reduce violent and drug-related crime in public and assisted housing.
