FBI reports laptops missing

Hundreds of FBI laptop computers, including at least one containing classified information, have been lost or stolen over the past decade, Justice Department officials said Tuesday.

Acting FBI Director Tom Pickard informed Attorney General John Ashcroft July 17 that 184 laptop computers were missing and that at least 13 of them are believed to have been stolen.

The word comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee today is scheduled to hold the second in a series of hearings on management problems at the FBI.

The bureau has been plagued by a series of woes over recent years, including the loss of thousands of documents in connection with the trial of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Officials blamed the mishandling of those documents on computer problems.

In addition to the laptop computers, nearly 450 firearms are missing.

In response, Ashcroft has asked the Justice Department's inspector general to conduct an inventory of laptops and other items. The FBI alone has about 13,000 laptop computers, Justice Department officials said.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department IG reported that the Immigration and Naturalization Service could not account for weapons.

Laptop computers have also been lost or stolen at the departments of State and Energy.