Report Finds 210 Firearms Missing From Philly Sheriff's Office

PHILADELPHIA — A new report from the Philadelphia Controllers office say more than 200 firearms have gone missing from the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office.

Philadelphia Controller Rebecca Rhynhart said 210 firearms are unaccounted for.

Of the 210 missing guns, 101 are service firearms and 109 were firearms seized as part of Protection From Abuse Act enforcement. The PFA firearms were seized between 1977 and 2015.

Regarding the service firearms, 25 were still assigned to former sheriff's deputies and there are no records of these service firearms being returned.

An investigation began after the controller's officer for a complaint alleging that 15 rifles and shotguns had been missing from the Sheriff’s Office gun inventory since 2016.

The investigation revealed the Sheriff's Office does not have comprehensive, formal policies or procedures regarding how weapons should be stored, what information should be recorded for tracking purposes, or when and how to dispose of weapons for both service firearms and PFA weapons.

"This lack of policies increases the likelihood of potential theft, waste or mismanagement of firearms, and could compromise Armory staff’s safety," Rhynhart wrote.

Additionally, the armory was found to have firearms piled on the floor and haphazardly stored in various boxes, cabinets, and barrels.

Among the firearms found in disarray was a service firearm co-mingled with the PFA weapons, and a PFA weapon in the service firearm room of the armory as well.

And some stored weapons were still loaded.

Following the investigation, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal expressed willingness to improve the management of the gun inventory and to implement recommendations outlined in the report.

"It’s unacceptable that more than 200 guns that should be in the Sheriff’s Office custody cannot be located," Rhynhart said. "The public needs to trust that the Sheriff’s Office is a reliable steward of its own property, as well as the personal property given to the Sheriff’s Office for safekeeping. I want to thank Sheriff Bilal and her office for their cooperation during this investigation. While many of the issues identified pre-date Sheriff Bilal’s administration, I hope that she will take quick action to track down the missing guns, if possible, and ensure proper maintenance of the gun inventory moving forward."