BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A new state audit finds a dozen guns and more than three dozen bulletproof vests belonging to state's Department of Public Safety and Corrections went missing over the past few years and haven't been found.

The Advocate reports the audit exposing the missing corrections gear prompted the department recently to revise its policy regarding "sensitive items," which include weapons, vests and radios.

Corrections Secretary Jimmy Leblanc says the policy now requires quarterly inventory audits of such items.

In light of the audit, officials say department is researching ways to improve the security of weapons inside unmarked vehicles of probation and parole officers.

The audit found the items went missing between fiscal years 2010 and 2014. Seven of the guns disappeared in 2011.

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