Between 2006 and 2008, Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers lost 243 weapons [http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/18/government.guns/index.html?hpt=T2] belonging to Homeland Security. Most of the cases involve carelessness on the part of the officers, leading to criminals to owning the weapons.
In all, 243 firearms were lost in both agencies during that period, according to the January report from Inspector General Richard Skinner. Of those, 36 were lost because of circumstances beyond officers’ control — for instance, ICE lost a firearm during an assault on an officer. Another 28 were lost even though officers had stored them in lockboxes or safes.
But 74 percent, or 179 guns, were lost “because officers did not properly secure them,” the report said.
The inspector general cited several examples of “inappropriate practices.” A customs officer, for instance, left a firearm in an idling vehicle in the parking lot of a convenience store. The vehicle was stolen while the officer was inside. “A local law enforcement officer later recovered the firearm from a suspected gang member and drug smuggler,” the report said.
Read that carefully. The vehicle was stolen while the officer was inside. These are the people that are supposed to be protecting us.
In addition, an ICE officer left an M-4 rifle and a shotgun unsecured in a closet at his home. Both weapons were stolen in a burglary and later recovered from a felon, according to the report. Another officer left his firearm in the restroom of a fast-food restaurant, and it was gone when he returned.
“Other CBP and ICE officers left firearms in places such as a fast food restaurant parking lot, a bowling alley and a clothing store,” the report said.
Of the 179 lost because of laxity, 120 were reported stolen and 59 as lost, the report said. That resulted from the agencies’ lack of guidance on a standard method for classifying and reporting lost firearms, as well as “a common perception among officers that reporting a stolen firearm was more acceptable than reporting a lost firearm.
There are two groups at fault in the loss of weapons. The officer is guilty for not taking due care to secure his/her weapon and DHS is guilty for not having set guidelines and standards for taking due care to secure weapons.
“Although CBP and ICE reported 120 firearms as stolen, our analysis showed that these firearms were lost (stolen) because officers left the firearms unsecured,” according to the report. “All 179 losses may have been prevented had the officers properly secured their firearms.”
DHS has 188,500 in listed in its possession. Losing 179 represents a 0.09% loss of weapons. While it’s a small number compared to the total, the lack of personal responsibility is still appalling. These officers are entrusted with weapons and should have taken more care to see that they were secured at all times.
