Beware of illegal and stolen firearms in your community

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has urged citizens to be responsible when purchasing and handling firearms. South Africans need to be aware of the various offences surrounding the irresponsible purchasing and handling of illegal or stolen firearms. Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Political and Conflict Studies at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Lyn Snodgrass, said gun-related homicide is the leading cause of violent deaths in South Africa. The Geneva Declaration Secretariat has compared the country’s homicide rates (which remain amongst the highest globally) to that of a war zone or a nation in crisis (Illegal guns fuel violent crime, wreak deadly havoc in South Africa, 2015). According to GunPolicy.org, a total of 3,357 gun deaths occurred within South Africa in 2008 and a total of 4,217 in 2010, a drastic decrease from the total of 15,000 in 2005, yet still a staggering amount.

Another alarming fact to note is that almost half of the confiscated firearms obtained by SAPS between 2009 to 2012 were formally legal weapons that ended up on the illegal market. These firearms were either lost or stolen from the legal owners of the weapons or once recovered, found their way back into the hands of criminals, said researcher and Transnational Threats and International Crime Division occupant, Lauren Tracey of the Institute for Security Studies (2013). She further explained that firearms remain one of the main weapons used for acts of criminal activity and violence within the country. In their annual report for the 2011 to 2012 period, SAPS found that 21 268 firearms and 295 085 rounds of ammunition were confiscated between 2009 and 2010, 19 327 firearms and 255 924 rounds of ammunition were confiscated between 2010 and 2011 and 25 615 firearms and 264 720 rounds of ammunition were confiscated between 2011to 2012. According to Snodgrass (2015), amnesty programmes have been implemented and used to decrease the number of illegal firearms in circulation within the country.

The 2005 amnesty saw 100,000 firearms confiscated by the SAPS. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Jeff Radebe announced a six-month amnesty period for illegal firearms and firearm offenders, which began on April 1 this year and is set to end on September 30 The BusinessTech website reported this year that the Minister hopes that the amnesty will counteract contact crimes by reducing the circulation of illegal firearms in South Africa. Gun violence is no stranger to local communities, with Westbury enduring a number of gun violence casualties since the beginning of 2017. Two men were found shot dead between the flats in Westbury this February, another two were shot dead in a drive-by shooting in April and five people were wounded in a gang-related drive-by shooting in December 2016. SAPS continues to urge South Africans to please be aware and not to purchase illegal or stolen firearms. According to SAPS, it is an offence to unlawfully use a firearm, to lose a firearm due to negligence, to point a firearm at another person, and to lend or rent out your legal firearm. Anyone with information about the illegal use or possession of illegal or stolen firearms can anonymously report these to Crime Stop at 08600 10111.

For more news follow us on these platforms: Twitter: @SowetoUrban, Facebook: Soweto Urban News, Instagram: @SowetoUrban News site 1: Westside-Eldos Urban News, News site 2: Soweto Urban News