thedrifter
08-05-02, 02:20 PM
Mon Aug 5,12:37 PM ET
By CHRISTOPHER NEWTON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Five agencies under Justice Department ( news - web sites) jurisdiction, including the FBI ( news - web sites) and DEA, have reported 775 missing or stolen weapons and 400 missing laptop computers, says a report released Monday.
Some of the weapons were used to commit crimes and the classification level of 218 of the missing laptops is unknown, said the audit report by the department's Office of Inspector General, an internal investigative unit.
The bulk of the missing laptops and weapons belonged to the FBI and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The report noted that "it is possible that the missing laptop computers would have been used to process and store national security or sensitive law enforcement information that, if divulged, could harm the public."
The Justice Department has already revealed to Congress that 449 weapons and 184 computers were lost or stolen.
In the inspector general's audit, the INS and the FBI reported losses of 539 and 212 weapons, respectively. The FBI reported an additional 211 missing weapons outside the time frame of the audit.
None of the other three Justice Department components — the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals Service — reported more than 16 missing weapons.
The BOP, DEA, and USMS audits cover weapons and laptop computers that were reported lost, missing, or stolen between October 1999 and August 2001. The FBI audit covers weapons and laptop computers that were reported lost, missing, or stolen between October 1999 and January 2002.
With respect to laptop computers, the DEA could not provide the number of losses, due to unreliable data. The FBI reported 317 of its more than 15,000 laptop computers as missing while the USMS reported 56 of its 1,450 laptops as missing.
Some of the weapons were believed to have been used in crimes.
According to the report, local police recovered from the pocket of a murder victim a handgun stolen from an FBI agent's residence in New Orleans. Police in Atlanta recovered a stolen DEA weapon during a narcotics search at a suspect's residence; and police in Philadelphia and Tampa recovered INS weapons that were used to commit armed robberies.
By CHRISTOPHER NEWTON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Five agencies under Justice Department ( news - web sites) jurisdiction, including the FBI ( news - web sites) and DEA, have reported 775 missing or stolen weapons and 400 missing laptop computers, says a report released Monday.
Some of the weapons were used to commit crimes and the classification level of 218 of the missing laptops is unknown, said the audit report by the department's Office of Inspector General, an internal investigative unit.
The bulk of the missing laptops and weapons belonged to the FBI and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The report noted that "it is possible that the missing laptop computers would have been used to process and store national security or sensitive law enforcement information that, if divulged, could harm the public."
The Justice Department has already revealed to Congress that 449 weapons and 184 computers were lost or stolen.
In the inspector general's audit, the INS and the FBI reported losses of 539 and 212 weapons, respectively. The FBI reported an additional 211 missing weapons outside the time frame of the audit.
None of the other three Justice Department components — the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals Service — reported more than 16 missing weapons.
The BOP, DEA, and USMS audits cover weapons and laptop computers that were reported lost, missing, or stolen between October 1999 and August 2001. The FBI audit covers weapons and laptop computers that were reported lost, missing, or stolen between October 1999 and January 2002.
With respect to laptop computers, the DEA could not provide the number of losses, due to unreliable data. The FBI reported 317 of its more than 15,000 laptop computers as missing while the USMS reported 56 of its 1,450 laptops as missing.
Some of the weapons were believed to have been used in crimes.
According to the report, local police recovered from the pocket of a murder victim a handgun stolen from an FBI agent's residence in New Orleans. Police in Atlanta recovered a stolen DEA weapon during a narcotics search at a suspect's residence; and police in Philadelphia and Tampa recovered INS weapons that were used to commit armed robberies.