Secret Service: Current fence simply is not adequate for a modern era.
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has become fairly well known for an affection for building walls. And his proposal has always been opposed by the Obama Administration as well as other liberals and Democrats. But apparently not this time.
The current fence simply is not adequate for a modern era. Weve said that before. It is becoming more and more acutely clear that that is in fact the case" said Secret Service official Tom Dougherty in a briefing to federal officials earlier this year according to the copy of an agency report obtained by the Washington-based NBC News 4 I-Team.
(The fence) is entirely scale-able depending upon the circumstances. And we have now a society that tends to want to jump over the fence" Daugherty said in the briefing which comes on the heels of an increasing number of people 
attempting to breach the security barrier that encircles the nations Executive Mansion.
After a recent spike in attempts to climb the fence protecting the White House from unauthorized entry the U.S. Secret Service plans to raise the height of the current security fence by 5 feet and add a new concrete foundation to reduce the risk of fence-jumpers.
Donald Trump the Republican presidential front-runner seized on the news that the White House would be raising the height of the fence surrounding the 18 acre complex to promote his plan to build a wall along the United States southern border with Mexico.
President Obama understands that you build strong tall beautiful walls to keep people out who dont belong. People who get permission can enter the White House LEGALLY! Tweeted Trump.
U.S. House and Senate leaders were briefed by the Secret Service on the possible fence changes in mid-April. While the agency said it intends to begin building a taller stronger" fence to protect the grounds by 2018 the statement did not say how much the new fence would cost. The proposed new design for a more substantial fence that is 11 feet 7 inches tall represents an increase of more than 5 feet from the current 6-foot-tall fence and would incorporate anti-climb features and intrusion detection technology a Secret Service spokeswoman said. It would also include 1¾-inch pickets and taller gates of entry to enter the grounds. Small spikes which officials call pencil points"
were added to the current fence in 2015 after a series of jumpers leapt the fence on to White House grounds.
Most notably in 2014 a man hopped the north fence and sprinted past the White Houses north portico doors before actually walking into the building where he was stopped.
Earlier this month a man was arrested after he jumped the north fence of the White House and on Tuesday a male suspect was taken into custody when he jumped a fence at the Eisenhower Executive Office building that is next door to the White House.
