Ammo shortage squeezes police forces
Demand skyrockets partially due to wars; lack of bullets affects training
The Associated Press
Updated: 6:49 p.m. ET Aug 17, 2007

Troops training for and fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are firing more than 1 billion bullets a year, contributing to ammunition shortages hitting police departments nationwide and preventing some officers from training with the weapons they carry on patrol.

An Associated Press review of dozens of police and sheriff’s departments found that many are struggling with delays of as long as a year for both handgun and rifle ammunition. And the shortages are resulting in prices as much as double what departments were paying just a year ago.

“There were warehouses full of it. Now, that isn’t the case,â€