Firearm amnesty period extended due to Covid
We urge people to take advantage of this period either to hand in those firearms and ammunition.
A new firearm amnesty for a period of six months, commencing from 1 August until 31 January, has been approved by parliament.
SAPS said the previous amnesty period from December 2019 to May was thwarted by the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this, they received 46 714 firearms. “However, we believe there are much more firearms out there that still need to be surrendered and we are confident the response to the previous amnesty would have been even more resounding if it were not for the pandemic.”
The approval of the new application was published in the Government Gazette on 31 July, which now allows all persons with illegal or unwanted firearms as well as ammunition to hand in at their nearest police station.
“We urge people to take advantage of this period either to hand in those firearms and ammunition either for destruction or renewal of competency and valid licence. The National Crime Statistic once again shows that firearms were the preferred weapon in the commission of most violent crime and reducing the circulation of firearms may potentially reduce the scourge of violent crimes quite significantly.”
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No indemnity will be granted for a firearm used to commit a crime. All firearms that have been handed in will undergo ballistic testing to ensure that they have not been used in the commission of any crimes, before they can be considered for destruction.
For firearm amnesty enquiries, call the FLASH call centre on 012-353-6111 or email cfrequiry@saps.gov.za.
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