Zuko Komisa

1700 SAPS police firearms have gone missing in the past 3 years.
The South African Police Department announced at the beginning of January that 1,725 official SAPS firearms were stolen between April 2021 and July 2023. For the first time in more than a decade, the numbers for the 2023–2024 fiscal year appear likely to surpass the 800 threshold.
For the past 2.5 years, that has come out to 61 guns being stolen each month.
Point of view with Phemelo Motene spoke researcher Claire Taylor about gun violence has become the leading cause of violent crimes in the country.
Listen to the full conversation here:
Taylor suggested mechanisms that are meant to combat the illicit flow of guns.
The State of the Central Firearms Registry in South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities, a report released by Taylor on Tuesday, examines the viability of outsourcing the nation’s CFR by using, among other things, a separate record-keeping system.
In the report, Taylor reveals the shocking details of gun violence and the theft of official police firearms is aiding criminals.
“South Africa’s most recent crime statistics reveal an increase in murder, attempted murder, and aggravated robbery. Of the more than 6 200 murders between January and March of 2023, a firearm was used in 2 629 instances.
Given that knives accounted for 919 murders, while stones, bricks or rocks were used in 110 murders, this reveals that guns remain the leading murder weapon.
To improve public safety, to protect human rights, such as the right to freedom and security of the person, and to improve the rule of law, gun violence in South Africa needs to be urgently addressed. One of the mechanisms that is meant to combat the illicit flow of guns (and consequently high levels of gun violence) is effective recordkeeping.”
Researcher Claire Taylor
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