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Missing ATF laptops bigger concern than stolen guns

Federal ATF agents misplaced 76 firearms and hundreds of laptops in the last five years according to a recent audit, AP reports. While we see weapons at police agencies show up missing rather frequently, I'm especially interested in what's becoming an even more widespread problem of lost or stolen law enforcement laptops, in this case at ATF. Most went unreported and nobody knows whether they contained critical case information, identities of informants or undercover agents, or just downloaded porn:ATF employees did not report 13 of the 76 lost weapons, or 365 of the 418 missing laptops, to internal affairs as required. ATF officials also did not report much of the lost equipment to the Justice Department. Investigators could not conclude what was on 398 of 418 missing laptops ? except that few were encrypted...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on September 18, 2008 (boomark / email).