371 police firearms stolen in six months, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu reveals
Jan Gerber
Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu. (Brenton Geach/Gallo Images)
Between 1 October 2023 and 31 March 2024, 371 police firearms, including 17 assault rifles, were either lost or stolen in South Africa, with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal being the most affected provinces.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu reported that 191 police officers were robbed of their service pistols during this period, and 29 128 rounds of ammunition were lost or stolen.
Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana has called for a detailed crisis plan from the national police commissioner to address the loss and theft of firearms.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has revealed that between 1 October 2023 and 31 March 2024, 371 of the police’s firearms, including 17 assault rifles, were either lost or stolen.
During this period, 191 police officers were robbed of their service pistols, according to Mchunu’s response to a parliamentary question from Rise Mzansi MP, Makashule Gana.
Gana wants the police to table a detailed plan to the Portfolio Committee on Police on how it intends to deal with the theft of its weapons.
Of the 371 weapons, 22 were lost. Gauteng led the way with 112 weapons stolen and 9 lost, followed by KwaZulu-Natal, with 68 weapons stolen and 6 lost.
The lost or stolen weapons include 350 pistols, five R1 rifles, 12 R5 rifles and four shotguns. The shotguns were all stolen in the Northern Cape.
Furthermore, 29 128 rounds of ammunition were lost or stolen.
On the positive side, the police recovered 120 “identifiable SAPS firearms” during the period, and made 123 arrests on 331 case dockets.
“The total number of rounds of ammunition that were recovered cannot be identified as either SAPS-owned or privately owned, because they do not have unique identification markings, such as serial numbers,” Mchunu’s answer read.
In a statement, Gana described the figures as “horrific”.
He is particularly concerned about the R1 and R5 riffles, “which are used, in many instances, in the commission of cash-in-transit heists”, and that recovered ammunition could not be identified.
“The proliferation of state firearms and ammunition into the hands of criminals, some of who may be crooked officers, is a crisis,” said Gana.
He added that national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, should table a detailed crisis plan before the Portfolio Committee on Police on how the police intend to prevent firearms and ammunition from being lost or stolen; implement consequences for lost or stolen firearms and ammunition; and develop intelligence, forensic and detective capacity within the police to recover lost or stolen firearms and ammunition.
He described the loss and theft of firearms as “a crisis that needs to be addressed with the necessary urgency it deserves”.
“Every lost [or] stolen firearm or round of ammunition only further empowers criminals and disempowers and undermines the ability of the state to keep the people of South Africa safe,” said Gana.
The most recent crime statistics showed that firearms are used in the vast majority of murders. Out of a sample of 5 596, firearms were used in 2 686 cases.
Last month, News24 reported that KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said the availability of firearms, and alcohol, were responsible for the rise of crime in the province.
Mkhwanazi added: The challenge is regarding the availability of firearms. We are engaging with different authorities and licence owners to safeguard their firearms. The second part is that liquor remains our biggest problem.
The police is also busy with a programme to clamp down on illegal firearms, which has seen the police destroy more than 260 000 firearms over the past five years, News24 reported in July.
“Firearms are the most preferred weapon of choice when crimes such as murders are committed, and that is why it is pivotal that we double our efforts in removing those that are illegal out of circulation,” Masemola said at the time.
In July, News24 reported that two KwaZulu-Natal police officers were robbed of their service firearms and a police vehicle in Umbumbulu, south of Durban.
News24
