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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
Report No. 2005-05
February 2005
The following problems were discovered as a result of an audit conducted by our office of the Department of Public Safety, Missouri State Highway Patrol.
In June 2001, our office issued report no. 2001-47, Use of Highway Funds by Other State Agencies. This report concluded some state agencies, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP), had expended highway funds for purposes that were not highway related. In February 2002, the MSHP prepared a study of its utilization of state highway funds. The study estimated 98 percent of funding received from the State Highway Fund appeared to be directly related to highway related activities, leaving 2 percent, or approximately $2.6 million, that was expended for non-highway related purposes. Based on the findings of its study, the MSHP began implementing record-keeping changes to better track highway-related expenses and requested reallocations of funding from highway funds to the state's General Revenue Fund totaling approximately $3.2 million in its fiscal year 2004 budget request. However, only $661,000 in reallocations were approved and further reallocations were not made in the fiscal year 2005 budget.
The Criminal Records and Identification Division (CRID) serves as the official state repository for criminal history information and disseminates criminal history information to various entities. The CRID reports a backlog of data entry for arrest records, prosecutorial charges, and case dispositions of six weeks, one week, and three weeks, respectively. Additionally, the state's judicial system has not reported conviction information to the CRID in a timely manner. Also, the CRID reports a back log of data entry for incarceration information of up to one year. Arrest, charge, disposition, and incarceration information needs to be recorded in a timely manner to provide complete criminal history information to the law enforcement community and the public.
Background checks are requested by public, private, and governmental entities for law enforcement, employment, licensure, adoption, and personal purposes. Background check requests that are submitted electronically are generally processed within 24 hours of submission, while requests received at the service window are generally performed while the requestor waits. However, other background check requests submitted manually are not processed for up to six weeks due to a large backlog.
During performance of duties, the MSHP officers sometimes seize cash and property as evidence. Monies seized may be subject to various state forfeiture proceedings. If monies are subject to state forfeiture, the officer is to initiate forfeiture paperwork which is forwarded to the appropriate prosecutor for further processing. To ensure that all monies subject to state forfeiture are properly remitted, the Division of Budget and Procurement should be notified at the time forfeiture proceedings are commenced and monies are removed from the evidence room.
The MSHP is not in compliance with state law regarding audits of forfeited monies. Under federal forfeiture proceedings, the courts may order disbursement of seized monies to the MSHP. The MSHP has not acquired an independent audit of the federal forfeiture activities or proceeds received during either of the two years ended June 30, 2003 or 2002. The MSHP should acquire an independent audit annually to ensure compliance with state law.
The audit report also notes some other concerns related to Motor Equipment Division, revenue collection, and bank account procedures.
