After agonizing about how to deal with the effects of government spending cuts, the FBI will shut down its headquarters and offices across the U.S. for about 10 weekdays over the next year, reports the New York Times. On those days, the bureau will have only a skeleton crew on hand, which raises questions about how effectively it can respond to crime.
While the shutdown conjures images of the movie “The Purge,” when the government allows people to commit crimes like murder and rape for 12 hours once a year, officials said they would have plans for agents to return to work if there was a terrorist attack or a crime like a kidnapping. Officials decided the closings were the easiest way to furlough employees, whose compensation accounts for 60 percent of the bureau's budget. Other federal law enforcement agencies are expected to adopt similar furlough plans as cost-cutting measures.