Distress sale at Police Headquarters

The police are selling off, by auction in a few days’ time, various pieces of guns, ammunition and other weaponry, and vehicles and sea-craft. Lots of the guns and rifles had been seized from law-breakers, while other items appear to be unwanted gifts or otherwise surplus to requirements and of mysterious provenance, like several boxes of East German ammunition.

The sea-craft and vehicles have been left to deteriorate over the years, thereby reducing their potential resale value – all this at a cost to the public purse. Browse through the catalogues in the links below to see valuable equipment abandoned in fields and garages.

The arms section is particularly interesting – it includes about 50 cases of ammunition (900 rounds each) and a vast array of weapons.

Some of it, like the pre World War I Balkan War booty is interesting, but some of the more modern weapons are potentially very lethal – especially when combined with the live ammunition.

Shouldn’t confiscated weapons such as shotguns and rifles be destroyed? Or is this the ‘reuse and recycle, waste not want not’ ethic?

If our police force/government is that hard up for cash, then the least that they could do is look after their things and sell them off at fair value.