Geezah
05-08-2006, 11:59 AM
FAULTY ammunition manufactured by the Police Department has been identified as a major factor contributing to injuries suffered by officers using their Smith & Wesson handguns.
Police armourers have discovered the continual reloading of spent casings from .357-calibre ammunition used in training is distorting them.
Distortion of some reloaded bullets has slightly changed their precise specifications, resulting in small shards of metal shearing off the shells when the revolver is fired.
The metal has been ejected at high speed from gaps in the gun body, hitting the user in the hand or face, causing minor injuries.
More than two dozen police officers have been injured by the metal shards over the past three years.
As a direct result of the discovery, Police Commissioner Mal Hyde has ordered that only factory ammunition will now be used in all handguns.
Assistant Commissioner Graeme Barton said it was believed the reloaded shells, coupled with the fact a large proportion of SAPOL's 2725 Smith & Wesson handguns were worn and had been poorly serviced, was responsible for the "spatter" problem.
"We have purchased 1450 new Smith & Wessons since June 2004 and another 200 will arrive by the end of this month to replace old and worn weapons," he said.
"This, coupled with the use of only new ammunition, should hopefully see the incidence of shell spatter reduced considerably.
"Where a problem has been identified as part of our lengthy investigation into this issue, we have acted fairly swiftly to eliminate it and a number of safety measures, such as protective screens, have been introduced."
Police Association of SA president Peter Alexander was pleased the problem with the handguns had finally been identified and rectified.
"The association has had ongoing concerns about this issue because of the injuries caused to officers using the guns during training," he said.
"We are pleased one of the major causes of the problem has been identified, even though it has taken several years to do so.
"We have been given an assurance there will be no more reloading of spent shells. All ammunition used during training will be brand new."
Police had been reloading between 350,000 and 400,000 training rounds annually. The reloaded ammunition has been used only in training, with new ammunition used in operational situations. As a result of the decision not to use reloads, police will spend several hundred thousand dollars a year on new ammunition – slightly more than the cost of reloading spent shells.
The decision has taken effect immediately, with the last 6000 rounds of reloaded ammunition recalled from northern country police stations last week.
Mr Barton said the problem with the reloaded bullets was finally identified after a trial earlier this year in which only new ammunition was used at two sites during training.
"We found at those two sites there were no incidents of spatter, so it focused our attention more closely on the reloads," he said.
SA and Victoria are the only police forces in Australia that still have the Smith & Wesson revolver as their standard-issue handgun.
The remainder use Glock semi-automatic pistols. In SA, only STAR Group officers are issued with Glock pistols.
"Currently, we consider the Smith & Wesson revolver the most suitable for SAPOL officers," Mr Barton said. "However, we are continually examining all types of firearms to determine if there is a more superior and safer handgun."
Link (http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19047426%255E2682,00.html)
I'm surprised they would have even considered using reloads for handguns, as it doesn't seem liek they saved a great deal by doing it.
Police armourers have discovered the continual reloading of spent casings from .357-calibre ammunition used in training is distorting them.
Distortion of some reloaded bullets has slightly changed their precise specifications, resulting in small shards of metal shearing off the shells when the revolver is fired.
The metal has been ejected at high speed from gaps in the gun body, hitting the user in the hand or face, causing minor injuries.
More than two dozen police officers have been injured by the metal shards over the past three years.
As a direct result of the discovery, Police Commissioner Mal Hyde has ordered that only factory ammunition will now be used in all handguns.
Assistant Commissioner Graeme Barton said it was believed the reloaded shells, coupled with the fact a large proportion of SAPOL's 2725 Smith & Wesson handguns were worn and had been poorly serviced, was responsible for the "spatter" problem.
"We have purchased 1450 new Smith & Wessons since June 2004 and another 200 will arrive by the end of this month to replace old and worn weapons," he said.
"This, coupled with the use of only new ammunition, should hopefully see the incidence of shell spatter reduced considerably.
"Where a problem has been identified as part of our lengthy investigation into this issue, we have acted fairly swiftly to eliminate it and a number of safety measures, such as protective screens, have been introduced."
Police Association of SA president Peter Alexander was pleased the problem with the handguns had finally been identified and rectified.
"The association has had ongoing concerns about this issue because of the injuries caused to officers using the guns during training," he said.
"We are pleased one of the major causes of the problem has been identified, even though it has taken several years to do so.
"We have been given an assurance there will be no more reloading of spent shells. All ammunition used during training will be brand new."
Police had been reloading between 350,000 and 400,000 training rounds annually. The reloaded ammunition has been used only in training, with new ammunition used in operational situations. As a result of the decision not to use reloads, police will spend several hundred thousand dollars a year on new ammunition – slightly more than the cost of reloading spent shells.
The decision has taken effect immediately, with the last 6000 rounds of reloaded ammunition recalled from northern country police stations last week.
Mr Barton said the problem with the reloaded bullets was finally identified after a trial earlier this year in which only new ammunition was used at two sites during training.
"We found at those two sites there were no incidents of spatter, so it focused our attention more closely on the reloads," he said.
SA and Victoria are the only police forces in Australia that still have the Smith & Wesson revolver as their standard-issue handgun.
The remainder use Glock semi-automatic pistols. In SA, only STAR Group officers are issued with Glock pistols.
"Currently, we consider the Smith & Wesson revolver the most suitable for SAPOL officers," Mr Barton said. "However, we are continually examining all types of firearms to determine if there is a more superior and safer handgun."
Link (http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19047426%255E2682,00.html)
I'm surprised they would have even considered using reloads for handguns, as it doesn't seem liek they saved a great deal by doing it.