Dear readers,
Sorry to take a more sarcastic tone in this one--I am sure the Department of Homeland Security is doing great work, but this story was sent to me last week and I couldn't resist putting it out there.
DHS officers 'lost' 243 guns between 2006 and 2008. The majority of them were lost because the officers didn't secure them (what does that mean exactly? can my gun-toting friends help explain?). This doesn't really represent a lot of guns, but it's still kind of frustrating that our own officers are inadvertently arming criminals.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Customs, ICE officers "did not always sufficiently safeguard their firearms," report says
* Of 243 guns, 179 were lost "because officers did not properly secure them"
* Guns were left in unlocked cars, fast food restaurants, bowling alleys
* Homeland Security responds by overhauling property management policy
Apparently, when people find guns, they keep them. I find that interesting. I wonder what the stats are on that?
Anyway, this reminds me of the story this past year when the US sent weapons and money to our allies in the interim government of Somalia, and the was shocked that the arms ended up in the hands of the militants that were/are our enemies. This occurred because the money ended up in the hands of the officers of the interim government, not the soldiers...and the soldiers, who still needed money, sold their weapons to the enemy/militants...arming the enemy. Anyone who knows anything about black markets could have told you this would happen.
It's amazing how much insecurity is caused just by us not paying attention.
Hope to hear your comments!
Best,
Alena
Securing any sort of object means simply to ensure that you have it! Examples of failing to secure an object include forgetting it somewhere, leaving it in an uncontrolled situation, or failing to provide adequate security.
ReplyDeleteCompared to the number of Blackberries that get left at conventions and hotels, and considering the number of DHS officers with guns, 243 is both shocking and expected considering the nature of human memory.
That being said, there should be extremely strict penalties for any agents failing to return a firearm, both to encourage officers to think about their firearms more often, and because firearms left in the wild are incredibly dangerous.