Police lost 2 356 guns in three years
JOBURG – Minister of Police Nkosinathi Nhleko revealed that police have lost 2 356 firearms in the past three years.
Minister of Police Nkosinathi recently revealed that 2 356 firearms were lost in the past three years.
Nhleko said in his parliamentary response that out of the total figure, 239 were lost over three years by police headquarters.
Of the 2 356 firearms that the SAPS lost, 840 were lost in 2012/13, 773 in 2013/14 and 743 in 2014/15.
Gauteng Province lost 516 firearms.
Adèle Kirsten, spokesperson for Gun Free South Africa said the statistics are alarming and show police negligence. “Police officers have lost between two and five guns every day,” she said.
Kirsten also revealed that the data shows that firearm loss and theft is the most significant source of illegal guns in South Africa.
“Fraud, corruption and poor implementation of the Firearms Control Act means that people who are not ‘fit and proper’ are issued with firearm certificates, licences, permits or authorisations.
“The most effective way of closing the tap leaking guns into the illegal pool, is to ensure that anyone granted a firearm certificate, licence, permit or authorisation is fit and proper for the responsibility of owning a lethal weapon,” she added.
DA spokesperson for community safety Michelle Clarke was also unimpressed.
The community is not safe because criminals can see a soft loophole in the police structure and they are capitalising on this, said Clarke.
“My concern is the discipline matter – the police need to exercise discipline, and political leaders shouldn’t interfere when it comes to the police,” concluded Clarke.
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