Mission creep to the nth degree
This is classic -- the federal agency running the TARP program has its own police force, with guns, sirens, police cars, the whole works. What do they need all that for? You'd think they were running a water bureau.
| Posted at 10:49 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (7)
Funny story about TARP: Neel Kashkari, who headed TARP at Treasury, admitted the seizure and sale of WaMu in September 2008 was "a mistake":
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2011/01/treasury-wamu-shutdown-was-a-mistake.html
Perhaps TARP managers are fearful those who have paid the price for the FDIC's "mistake" will prove demonstrative.
Posted by Gardiner Menefree | March 10, 2011 11:29 AM
If they're wanting to look and act like real police, maybe they could also start making arrests and bringing real justice to those perps who instigated this mess.
Posted by John Rettig | March 10, 2011 12:38 PM
About 29 arrests post-TARP. Zero for pre-TARP.
Posted by Joe | March 10, 2011 12:44 PM
I want to know do they have special pocket protectors for their pens and pencils? Just what we need nerdy cops. "Put down the calculator and assume the position."
Sadly they just couldn't have some FBI types or Secret Service people assigned to the agency. And where do they train?
Posted by Sludge puppy | March 10, 2011 4:54 PM
"It’s a law enforcement agency with an expiration date, though — by law, the agency expires as soon as all taxpayer dollars under TARP have been repaid, although that could be years from now."
Whaddya wanna bet they find some reason to stick around? I've never seen an agency go off peacefully into the sunset once it was up and running.
Posted by ITguy | March 10, 2011 10:17 PM
This is a new one to me, but scores of federal agencies in D.C. have their own police departments:
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Pentagon Police
Defense Logistics Agency
National Security Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Institutes of Health
Federal Protective Service (the FPS has a branch here in Portland)
United States Park Police
FBI Police (Yes, the nation's leading law enforcement agency has its own police department!)
Bureau of Engraving and Printing (although it falls in the same agency as the Secret Service who has overlapping duties, it is distinct from the Secret Service)
the Secret Service
U.S. Mint Police
The Library of Congress Police
The Senate and House Sergeant at Arms
U.S. Capitol Police
Government Printing Office Police
Supreme Court Police
Amtrak Police (Amtrak has a police officer stationed in Seattle who also maintains an office in Portland)
Federal Reserve Police
Smithsonian Police, as well as the National Zoo Police
U.S. Postal Police
And, many of these agencies have quite duplicative functions, especially Park Police.
Posted by Erik H. | March 10, 2011 11:24 PM
True enough -- as Erik points out -- the DC area is absolutely saturated with agency specific "law enforcement" types and plain old security guards. The latter all trying to join the ranks of the former -- why? To go after the really bad guys? Nahhhhh. To get the most beneficial pension and benefit packages available to mankind. Carry a gun and badge -- retire at 50, get up to 90% final pay, health care, blah blah.
Only a small part of the picture in the DC-VA-MD region, the only really stable, employment-viable place left in the country.
Posted by cajun100 | March 11, 2011 5:43 PM