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Secret Service proposing ‘taller and stronger’ White House fence

Posted at 9:04 PM, Apr 27, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-27 21:04:49-04

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Secret Service is proposing a “taller and stronger” White House fence following an increasing number of people attempting to breach the security encircling the executive mansion.

The proposed new design of the fence incorporates “anti-climb features” and “intrusion detection technology,” a Secret Service spokeswoman said in a statement. The new design features a fence that is 11 feet and seven inches tall.

The statement did not say how much the new fence would cost.

The Secret Service is awaiting the approval of the National Planning Commission for moving ahead with the proposal, and said their goal is for the project to be green-lit by 2018.

There has recently been a spike in attempts to climb the fence around the White House. Most notably, in 2014, a man hopped the north fence and sprinted past the north portico White House doors and actually into the building, before 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.