Travel rules for US Secret Service agents tightened

In an internal memorandum,the agency said that personnel would not be permitted to have foreigners in their rooms other than hotel staff members and law enforcement counterparts

Two weeks after the Secret Service opened an investigation into whether a dozen of its agents and employees had spent the night with prostitutes in Colombia,the agency announced on Friday that it had tightened its rules for staff members travelling in foreign countries.

In an internal memorandum,the agency said that personnel would not be permitted to have foreigners in their rooms other than hotel staff members and law enforcement counterparts. Patronisation of nonreputable establishments is prohibited, it said,in an attempt to address the issue of workers visiting strip clubs and brothels.

It also said that alcohol may only be consumed in moderate amounts on the trips and that drinking alcohol less than 10 hours before reporting for duty was prohibited. The memo emphasized that the US laws shall apply to Secret Service personnel while abroad.

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In a statement on Friday,the Secret Service described the steps as common-sense enhancements of existing rules for employee responsibilities and conduct. It said they were effective immediately.

Personnel will be provided with intensified country-specific briefings upon arrival in a foreign country about off-limit zones and off-limits establishments.