An independent panel is calling on the White House to build a much taller fence to protect the president after a string of recent embarrassing security failures.

An independent panel that was commissioned with examining the U.S. Secret Service said the barrier around the White House needs to be extended four or five feet upward, and horizontal bars — which allow intruders to gain a hand- or foot-hold — should be minimized. The fence might even need to be curved outwards in an attempt to give Secret Service agents vital seconds to respond to a potential threat, according to a Christian Science Monitor report.

More than just providing protection for the president, it may also protect the intruder, as it will give agents more time to determine whether the jumper is a real threat or just a mentally ill person or a prankster who can be subdued with non-lethal means.

There are other recommendations in the report, which notes that the Secret Service is fundamentally “starved for leadership,” and that the agency should get a director recruited from outside the Secret Service.

The service is simply “too insular” and needs some outside experience to bring some much needed reforms to the agency, the report notes. Also, training is below acceptable levels, as there aren’t enough agents in the uniform division to allow for more training. The panel is urging that Congress approve resources that would be needed to improve that.

Agents receive only 25 minutes of training per year, even though standards stipulate that the uniformed division should spend 10 percent of their time training. In order to reach those goals, the Secret Service will have to increase significantly in size, which would lead to a bigger budget — a tough sell in an environment of tight spending limits.