Regarding our training requirements, we must comply with those set forth in the Attorney General Guidelines for OIGs with Statutory Law Enforcement Authority. You can find those guidelines here: http://www.ignet.gov/pande/sta....
One of these guidelines is mandatory quarterly firearms qualification, which is required of every Federal law enforcement agent to ensure agent and public safety. This critical training expends a considerable amount of ammunition. We have about 295 criminal investigators who must qualify with a firearm four times per year. If each investigator uses 150 rounds per qualification, then we would need 177,000 rounds per year. This number can vary based on the total number of agents, and any type of specialized training we might undertake.
To answer some other comments, this is a routine procurement that we typically make every fiscal year. The exact amount purchased varies some from year to year. For example, we may purchase more ammunition in a given year given available funding, and then purchase less the following year. Generally speaking, though, the amount of ammunition we use every year has remained consistent since the mid-1990s, when our office was created after Social Security became an independent Federal agency.
Finally, we certainly can’t speak to the type of ammunition the U.S. military uses. However, nearly every law enforcement agency—local, State, and Federal—uses hollow point ammunition, because it has been determined that it is most effective for law enforcement purposes. We purchase this type of ammunition for training because it is standard law enforcement practice to use the exact same type of ammunition during training as is used during the normal course of law enforcement duties.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this important conversation. We encourage your feedback and questions.
Good. Thanks!