Homeland Security panel recommends taller fence for White House

Homeland Security panel recommends taller fence for White House

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White House Fence

Israeli security experts have said before that the fence around the White House does not stop intruders.

Now, a homeland security panel says that a taller fence for the White House is the most important immediate step in ramping up protection for the president.

According to the Telegraph, the report was submitted to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. The United States Secret Service Protective Mission Panel began examining presidential security and the role of the Secret Service after a number of incidents, including one in which a man jumped the White House fence and got into the building before he was apprehended.

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“A better fence can provide time, and time is crucial to the protective mission,” the report said. “Every additional second of response time provided by a fence that is more difficult to climb makes a material difference in ensuring the President’s safety and protecting the symbol that is the White House.”

The fence could be as much as 4 to 5 feet taller than the existing one and designed so that it does not have horizontal bars providing foot and hand holds, the report said.

The panel said it should be possible to provide a secure fence that also meets the aesthetic and historic considerations of the White House.