Homeland Security Officers Lost Many Firearms

WASHINGTON (Feb. 18) -- We expect the Department of Homeland Security to protect us from the evil-doers of the world -- not to provide them with guns.

But an inspector general report released this week found that the Homeland Security agencies that protect our border, our airports and our president lost 289 guns in fiscal 2006 to 2008. Some were left in public bathrooms, unlocked cars and even a bowling alley and ended up in the hands of "felons, gang members, criminals, drug users and teenagers" on at least 15 occasions.

"Although lost firearms account for a minor percentage of DHS' total firearm inventory, they pose serious risk to civilians and noncivilians alike," said the report by DHS Inspector General Richard L. Skinner, which recommended a number of improvements to address the issue.

The report said that the lion's share of lost guns -- which included M-4 rifles, shotguns and handguns -- came from the DHS agencies U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It said those agencies accounted for 243 or 84 percent of the missing firearms.

The report said the U.S. Coast Guard lost nine guns, U.S. Secret Service lost 15 and the Transportation Security Administration, which protects airports, lost 22. Most of the guns have not been recovered.

USA Today, which first reported on the findings today, said Homeland Security has fired and suspended officers for losing guns.

DHS spokesman Matthew Chandler said today that the agency has taken corrective action.

"DHS is strongly committed to ensuring that weapons utilized in support of its law enforcement mission are kept secure," he said in a statement. "We took immediate action to correct the deficiencies identified in this audit and to improve our overall management of firearms. DHS has been implementing new policies and procedures to ensure accurate and timely firearms property records and systems are maintained.

"These include requiring weapons to be properly stored, annual firearms security awareness training for all personnel-issued firearms, and accountability and requirements for investigation when individuals fail to follow procedures."

James Alan Fox, a criminal justice professor at Northeastern University in Boston, said the loss "obviously presents a threat to public safety."

"We'd like everyone to be perfect and totally careful, but the fact is people are human and fallible and occasionally make mistakes," Fox told AOL News, adding: "It's obviously worthy of concern."

The report said that of the 243 firearms lost by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE, 36 were "due to circumstances beyond the control of the officers. For example, CBP lost firearms when Hurricane Katrina made landfall, and ICE lost a firearm during an assault on an officer."

But it went on to say that 179 of those firearms "were lost because officers did not secure them."

In one instance, the report said a gun was left in the restroom of a fast-food restaurant. When the agent returned to retrieve it, it was gone.

"The case file listed this firearm as stolen; however, we believe that the firearm would not have been stolen had the officer exercised due diligence in safeguarding the gun, " the report said.

In another instance, a CBP officer left a firearm in a unsecured idling vehicle in a convenience store parking lot, and the weapon was later recovered "from a suspected gang member and drug dealer."

The report said the CBP and ICE officers left firearms in "places such as a fast-food restaurant parking lot, a bowling alley and a clothing store."

"Officers may have prevented many of these losses had they exercised reasonable care when storing their firearms," the report said.