Police Oversight and Community Safety
Hon Walters.
With regard to illegal firearms in the province:
(1) (a) How many firearms have been confiscated by the SAPS in the Western Cape in the last 12 months, (b) what is the (i) process and (ii) timelines for the destruction of these firearms and (c) how many of these firearms have been destroyed;
(2) (a) in the last 12 months, in how many instances were firearms that had been officially issued by SAPS (i) lost and (ii) stolen and (b) what are the relevant details of each incident;
(3) whether there have been any instances over the last 12 months in which (a) a previously confiscated firearm or (b) an SAPS-issued firearm was used to commit a crime; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) whether any arrests have been made as the result of the theft of SAPS-issued firearms; if so, what are the relevant details;
(5) whether any SAPS personnel in the province have been implicated in the theft of firearms; if so, what are the relevant details?
13. (1) (a) From January 2024 and ending December 2024, 1388 firearms were confiscated.
(b)(i) The process is outlined in the SAPS National Instruction 6 of 2020.
(ii) The timeframes for the destruction of confiscated firearms by the South African Police Service (SAPS) are influenced by several factors, including the legal status of the firearm, its involvement in criminal investigations, and administrative requirements. These factors ensure that the destruction process is conducted in a structured and legally compliant manner.
(c) 900 case firearms were destroyed in 2024, during the three different planned firearm ‘destructions’.
(2) (a)(i) From January 2024 and ending December 2024 – 2
(ii) From January 2024 and ending December 2024 – 28
(b) Negligence was the cause of the lost firearms, whereas stolen firearms were taken through criminal acts such as carjacking’s, burglaries, robberies, and theft.
(3) (a) No
(b) No
(4) No
(5) No
