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Officers Lose 243 Homeland Security Guns

In a screw up so big it could only be brought to you by the government or a famous athlete, 243 guns were lost by Homeland Security agencies between 2006 and 2008. 179 guns, were lost "because officers did not properly secure them," an inspector general report said. One of the worst examples of carelessness cites a customs officer who 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.

6 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. Re:More Proof of Government Incompetence by PoderOmega · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I understand your point regarding incompetence, but the only reason we know about this is because this is a government agency. If it was private company the public would have no idea. You could make an argument regarding hiring standards between the government and private companies, but based on my experience private companies hire lazy and incompnent employees as well. Where is the public report from a Health Care company where mistakes cost hundreds of premium paying customers money or time to recoupe money due to sloppiness on the insurance company? Or worse, where are the reports where people were delayed necessary procedures? You won't see it because it is a private company. I agree the government may not do a great job managing heathcare, but this is not a valid example.

  2. Re:More Proof of Government Incompetence by qzak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You'll have to explain to me how losing a statistically insiginficant number of weapons constitutes proof of government incompetence. Not that I necessarily assume the government is competent, mind you, but losing 250 out of a total number of guns that must be in the hundreds of thousands doesn't constitute 'proof' of anything.

  3. Re:Report shows people are still human by TheCarp · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Well, we all also do illegal things, but you best be extra perfect in front of a cop. All you need to do is one illegal thing in front of a cop, and he will gladly do his job and process you into the system for punishment. Why should hey get a break when he gets caught slipping?

    -Steve

    --
    "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
  4. Re:More Proof of Government Incompetence by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The Dems don't understand business and the private sector; they don't understand what actually generates wealth in this country because they themselves are destroyers, not creators, of wealth
     
    Interesting idea when you consider the largest destroyers of wealth are in New York City on Wall Street, rather than in Washington DC. But those of us in the know, know that the Dems and Reps all have their campaigns paid by Goldman Sachs anyway.
     
    To understand power in the United States, don't follow government. Follow the money.

    --
    SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  5. Re:Statistics by mjwalshe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    well you need to compare this to the army and the average loss rate in the general population

  6. Re:Statistics by blueZ3 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think you'd find the loss rate in the Army vanishingly small. The kinds of punishment a cop gets for misplacing a weapon pale beside what they can do to a soldier losing a rifle.

    For a good number of years I was the company armorer and ran the company arms room when I was in the Army and we never lost a weapon--because every soldier knows what will happen to him if he loses his rifle, and every sergeant knows what will happen to him if his troop loses it, and so on up the chain.

    I doubt any of the DHS employees got more than a wrist-slap

    --
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