It goes beyond reliability of any given guns the ALE purchases. The trail is clear and points to a corrupt organization that has a history of procuring what they feel are the finest weapons on the market for two reasons: They have to justify an ever shrinking budget by making the case for more expensive weapons, and to set themselves up to purchase the high quality guns they procure at a massive discount for private ownership every few years or so.
Like any state or federal agency, projected budgets are overblown every year so that each little entity gets a piece of the pie in ways they see fit. If the ALE were to not spend any part of their budget, they would get less the next year. It's just the way the system works. Government agencies and departments always ask for more than they need, and always spend more than what they get so that they can ask for even more the next year. After all, if they didn't spend everything from one year, they would get less the following year as it would be seen as they didn't need as much.
I can guarantee that the weapons in question are not the only top of the line products that this department has at their disposal due to the way budgets are projected and allotted.
Any technical difficulties were probably minor and or user induced, although any mechanical thing can certainly fail. The defects are a by-line to the larger story of exposing a corrupt practice used by a corrupt organization.
The glaring employment of the "good ol' boy" network is clearly evident in this, and in many other stories of corruption at the hands of state and federal government agencies.
Now, why is there a changing of weapon types and manufacturers every few years?
The answer is simple: They almost always sell every single older weapon to their own agents and associates when they are replaced. The changing of products gives these people a variety of weapons to purchase for themselves at huge discounts every few years. That is why you won't see this agency use any single type of gun year after year after year. Why would they keep selling each other the same old Sig every few years when they can mix it up with Kimbers and Colts and any other cool gun that hits the market that will be cool to own after they are "worn out" from 2 years of service, which includes almost no actual shooting either on the range or during their actual duties.
Remember all of this the next time the Governor tells you your state income tax return will be late again this year. Any idea of why the state is too broke to pay you back your own money?
