US Capitol Police Says Confident Number Of Threats Against Lawmakers To Continue To Rise

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2021) The US Capitol Police issued a statement saying it was confident the high number of threats issued against the members of Congress will continue to increase.

"As the [Capitol Police] Department has previously reported, the number of threats made against Congress has increased significantly," the statement said on Friday. "This year alone, there has been a 107 percent increase in threats against members compared to 2020. Provided the unique threat environment we currently live in, the Department is confident the number of cases will continue to increase."

Last month, acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said the number threats against US lawmakers increased by 65 percent in the first four months of 2021 as compared to the same period in 2020.

Pittman said the Capitol Police force wants to hire and train an additional 212 officers to boost security in the aftermath of the January 6 breach at the Capitol building.

The Office of the Inspector General recommended the Capitol Police reform their threat assessment section to be more like that of the US Secret Service. Whereas the Capitol Police has about 30 analysts and agents working roughly 9,000 cases a year, the Secret Service has more than 100 analysts managing some 8,000 cases last year.