Audit: Department of Public Safety off $97.3M in overstated, understated errors

(The Center Square) – Overstated and understated errors totaled $97.3 million, says an audit of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

In review and messaging to the governor, General Assembly leaders, and Public Safety Secretary Jeffrey Smythe, “The State Auditor’s Office found the department did not have adequate internal controls, including review procedures, to ensure accurate financial reporting.” The staff of first-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek identified 34 adjustments, 14 of which were material.

“A government agency’s financial statements must be accurate in order for management to make informed, educated decisions,” Boliek wrote in an email to The Center Square. “During its audit of the Department of Public Safety’s financial statements, the State Auditor’s Office identified a deficiency in internal control and ultimately had to account for 34 audit adjustments.

“After accounting for those adjustments, the financial statements are now presented fairly in all material respects. This is the bread-and-butter work of the State Auditor’s Office – making sure financial statements are accurate, and management has reliable information at their hands.”

The audit was a fiscal year 2025 year-end assessment. Its purpose serves taxpayers through “responsible stewardship and transparent reporting of public funds and grants allocated to prisons, juvenile justice, emergency management, and other programs,” the audit says in part.

The Department of Public Safety is the primary agency in the state for law enforcement, juvenile initiatives and emergency management responsibilities. Amid the change in the governor’s office from two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein at the close of 2024, Secretary Eddie Buffaloe Jr. remained at the helm the first five months of the fiscal year until Stein on Dec. 1 appointed Smythe.

Buffaloe had succeeded Erik Hooks, the secretary at the time of the historic release of more than 4,000 prisoners as Cooper – the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate – settled litigation with the NAACP.

The Department of Public Safety in fiscal year 2025 reported $2 billion in revenue and $2.8 billion in expenses.

Smythe’s response in the 74-page document says in part, “To improve internal controls, the department is developing standard operating procedures and checklists for staff to use during the preparation of year-end statements to enhance internal controls for future financial reporting activities. The Financial Services sections have also conducted a year-end information session to equip divisional staff to perform the necessary year-end requirements.”