Only 3% of stolen firearms are returned to their owners by police

An epidemic of gun violence is perpetuated by illegal firearms in criminal hands.

The police ministry revealed that the number of lost and stolen firearms recovered by police and returned to owners is worryingly low.

While a similar amount of recovered firearms were destroyed, only a fraction of the 8 241 missing guns were accounted for in the previous 12-month reporting period.

97% of missing guns still unaccounted for

Using stats from the 2022/23 financial year, the police ministry responded to a parliamentary question on 10 September.

Economic Freedom Fighters parliamentarian Sharon Letlape stated that 7 653 firearms were stolen during that period, while 588 were reported lost.

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The ministry’s written response stated that 255 of those firearms had since been traced and returned to their owners.

Research published in 2024 by Statista that studied the same reporting period showed that 496 stolen firearms were recovered, while 49 that were lost were traced and returned.

Of all the firearms found, 133 were done so in KwaZulu-Natal, 103 in Gauteng and 84 in the Western Cape.

In the crime stats released for the first quarter of the 2024/25 reporting period, police registered 3 832 instances of suspects being arrested for illegal possession of a firearm.   

Where do the guns go?

In the ministry’s response, they outline how firearms that are unable to be returned to their owners are dealt with.

The circumstances range from firearms without serial numbers, firearms with destroyed serial numbers and owners who have been deemed unfit to own a firearm.

“[They] are sent to the police ballistics section, within the forensic science laboratory, for analysis,” police stated.

“Any firearms that cannot be returned to the rightful owners, are forfeited to the state, and subsequently sent for destruction,” they concluded.

Crimes using deadly weapons

Aggravated robbery is commonly committed using a firearm, and police registered 15 695 cases of aggravated robbery between April and June this year.

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Of the sub-categories, carjacking accounted for 5 438 cases while robbery at residential and non-residential premises accounted for 5 641 and 4 151 cases, respectively.

Police recorded 34 cash-in-transit robberies and 429 truck hijackings in those three months.

However, there were zero cases of bank robbery registered, down from the one incident reported during the same period last year.