I’m sure you’ve heard of the recent rash of White House perimeter breaches, from the toddler who managed to squeeze through the bars of the surrounding fence to the armed Iraq war veteran who purposefully jumped it. There have been a total of five people who’ve managed to get past the fence just this year. In light of that, an independent security panel was created and given the job of analyzing the Secret Service in order to determine its failures and make recommendations for its improvement. Huffington Post reported that the panel was comprised of former government officials, including a deputy attorney general, deputy chief of staff for operations, and an assistant to the president. In the process of their analysis they met with upwards of 120 other government officials.

The panel made many recommendations, one of which was a change to the 7 foot, 6 inch tall fence that surrounds the 18 acre perimeter of the White House. It was recommended that the fence be raised by four to five feet and that all horizontal bars be removed. I’m not sure how much this will deter toddlers, but it should make it more difficult to climb over, which according the panel’s executive summary is key. It explains that "A better fence can provide time, and time is crucial to the protective mission. 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.”

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The Atlantic made a similar report, noting that other recommendations included providing the Secret Service with more money, more training, and more man power; recommendations that are nothing new. Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson was quoted as saying, "This time must be different,” and admitted that “the Secret Service leadership and I, as the leader of the Department of Homeland Security, now have an obligation to take those recommendations seriously." Let’s hope so.