Dangerous incompetence: Homeland Security lost hundreds of guns and badges

A newly released investigative report reveals that Department of Homeland Security officials managed to lose track of at least 165 guns and more than 1,300 government agent badges and credentials in just over two years.

Todd Shepherd, investigative reporter for the libertarian think tank the Independence Institute and founder of Complete Colorado, relayed in his report:

Almost 900 of the 1,300 lost or stolen badges or credentials were from the sub-agency Customs and Border Protection (CBP); about 300 were under the responsibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and approximately 200 were responsible to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Of the missing guns, all but 31 DHS declared are “lost” are currently listed as “stolen” in government records.

Michael Brown, former Undersecretary of Homeland Security and Director of FEMA, told Shepard that the massive security problem warrants further investigation by the DHS’s government watchdog.

“Law enforcement credentials, badges or ID cards can be used to access areas closed to the public, restricted access areas, and allow a person to pose as a law enforcement official where lax inspection of the credential to match it with the person carrying it allows that person entry to restricted areas,” Brown told Shepard. “Possession of these kinds of credentials gives terrorists or criminals the basic information needed to counterfeit other credentials.”

“For example,” Brown continued, “a terrorist cell could use these credentials or counterfeited credentials to access public events posing as law enforcement officials, bypassing security measures designed to detect explosives or other contraband.”

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