Answer?
Yes, No & Maybe ...
Buy any used LE equipment and see how well it was treated by the cops using it everyday (car, radio, computer, shotgun, handgun, flashlight, handcuffs, etc.), especially if it was issued equipment.
Sure, I've seen a dismaying number of folks who would try to slip out on cleaning their weapons after a qualification or training session. "But I'll clean it at home, honest!" My inclination was to respond, "Fine, you can do that after you do it here first before you leave".
Some of them were successful when it came to avoiding cleaning their weapons, though, as sometimes became apparent.
I knew of more than one cop who found themselves at the scene of a shooting where someone died, and having a dirty service weapon in their possession made for some extra work so the lab could exclude their weapons as being involved. (Imagine the potentially sticky situation if the bullets responsible for the death couldn't be recovered at the scene, though.) As you might expect, the point was made that their service weapons
would be cleaned after each qualification session thenceforth.
On the other hand, there's the other end of the extreme in way of the folks who are somewhat over-zealous and enthusiastic about cleaning & lubricating their weapons ... but who don't really have a clue how to do it properly. Happily and industriously 'cleaning away' and ending up with different problematic conditions, such as things that shouldn't be lubricated and are lubricated.
... Any opening in the weapon is treated like a zerk fitting.
... Slathering on solvent & lubricants as if they were washing a car without any concern for the liquids traveling into places that shouldn't be filled with excessive (or any) amounts of solvent or even be lubricated.
Detail stripping and delousing a K9 handler's weapon who may be somewhat 'less than casually interested' in proper weapon maintenance can be an experience. I always wanted to know where they kept that green-haired woolly mammoth responsible for all the green, hairy grunge, fur balls and congealed dog breath & saliva which accumulated inside the weapons.
Service weapons can get their assortment of dings, dents, scrapes, nicks, scratches, gouges, unidentified stains/discolorations and generally puzzling cosmetic additions, no question about it. Holster wear and personal body chemistry/acidic etching can be the least of the rigors to which they're subjected, too.
Why won't some folks report when their weapons are submerged in water???
Bottom line? I've had to correct fouling & improper user-related maintenance conditions that actually caused failures-to-function and even outright failures-to-fire when folks came through qualification ranges and discovered their weapons wouldn't function well or even fire. (Yes, they were usually coming in 'off the street' with it in that condition, albeit unknowingly).
No matter the fuss made, the cautionary logic presented, the resulting functioning issues resulting from neglect of maintenance or even administrative requirements (and potential disciplinary action) for failing to provide required user cleaning & maintenance ... some folks just aren't interested in taking care of their service weapons and find ways to get around doing so.
Somewhere in between those who neglect weapons, and those who think they know how to clean & maintain them better than the manufacturers who made them (but cause their own brand of problems while doing so) ... there's the middle ground of folks who follow the basic care & maintenance instructions they're given or learn at some point (and who actually bother to read an owner manual), or at least think to stop and ask for help if they're not sure about how to properly detail-strip, clean and lubricate their weapons.
And yes, it's always a pleasure when someone presents an issued weapon which has been properly and carefully maintained, and that person demonstrates an obvious understanding of why it's important to maintain service weapons so they're always ready to function in an optimal manner when needed.
I remember when I was a new cop and was told that issued weapons would not be accepted when turned in (for repair, exchange, etc.) unless they were clean and appeared properly maintained. The equipment officer would reject dirty & improperly maintained weapons and send folks away to go clean them before they could be turned in. Folks grumped about it then, too.
Funny thing is, though, they didn't complain about being handed weapons in clean, lubricated and properly working condition ...
Just my thoughts ...
