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A total of 889 private and 8043 police firearms were stolen since 2011/12 whilst under the control of the SAPS. A mere five people have successfully been convicted for these crimes.

It is no wonder that the SAPS under an ANC-run government cannot keep crime under control in South Africa. The 889 privately owned firearms were stolen from SAPS 13 stores.

Of the 8043 police firearms, only 5385 could be recovered, meaning 2658 (33%) of these firearms are still in the hands of criminals. In 2021/22 only 215 firearms could be recovered, the lowest number since the Firearm Registration System became operational in 2011. Yet, 2021/22 saw the highest number of police firearms stolen or lost in 4 years.

Kwa-Zulu Natal is the province where the most private firearms, one-third of the national total, are stolen from SAPS 13 stores. It is no coincidence that this province is also the centre of political and factional violence in the country.

The most worrying factor is that of all these incidents (8932 firearms in total), only 35 cases were prosecuted and 5 convicted. Of those prosecuted, 46% involved a member of the SAPS.

Yet, murder has gone up from 60 per day to 76 per day in just four years, based on the last quarter’s crime stats (July-September 2018 compared to July-September 2022).

For 10 years the ANC has made no visible effort to address the crisis since crime statistics remain unacceptably high. The ANC government has blood on its hands and the SAPS continues to fail its constitutional mandate.

As a first step in addressing this, the DA calls on President Ramaphosa to put the country first, use his powers and get rid of Minister of Police, Bheki Cele. Then carry out a strategic review of the SAPS that should include practical steps with adequate timeframes to ensure that the SAPS is fit for purpose regarding their ability to prevent crimes and ensure the safety and security of all South Africans.

The best deterrent to would-be criminals however remains a criminal justice system that ensures that criminals are detected, convicted and punished and if possible rehabilitated. Only a DA-run government will be able to achieve this in South Africa.

Issued by George Michalakis - DA NCOP Spokesperson on Justice and International Relations