Security review concludes the White House needs 'a better fence'

Security review concludes the White House needs &#039;a better fence&#039;

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Following a rash of embarrassing security lapses earlier this year, an independent panel has concluded that the Secret Service and White House infrastructure must be modernized to better protect the president. Specifically, the panel wrote in a report released Thursday that the fence surrounding the White House "needs to be changed as soon as possible."

"We decline to say precisely what the optimal new fence should look like," the report states, though it adds that it "must be taller." The report goes on to say that the Secret Service needs new leadership — preferably a director who hails from outside the organization — to "move the Service forward into a new era and drive change in the organization."

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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.