Cape Town – A reward of up to R5 000 is being offered to Western Cape residents who report where illegal firearms can be found.
On Wednesday at the Delft police station, Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen relaunched the much-anticipated reward system to encourage the public to report the whereabouts of illegal firearms.
Allen was joined by Western Cape Deputy Police Commissioner, Major-General Mpumelelo Manci.
The reward system encourages residents to report the location of illegal firearms by dialling 021 466 0011.
The person reporting the firearm can do so anonymously, or they can share their details with the trusted SAPS officers who will field the calls.
The details of the person reporting the firearms will under no circumstances be made public. Upon reporting the firearm, it will be collected by SAPS.
Once it is confirmed as an illegal firearm, R1 500 will be awarded to the individual who reported it.
When an arrest is made that is directly linked to the firearm, a further R1 500 will be paid to the person who reported it and should there be a conviction that is tied to the firearm, the balance of R 2 000 will be paid out to the person who made the report.
“During the first ten weeks of 2023, shootings accounted for 44% of homicides, which is the highest cause of murders in the province. During the third quarter, October 2022 to December 2022, of the 2022/23 financial year, firearms were also the instrument used to commit 47,8% of all murders, which was also the highest during the period,” Allen said.
“Part of the reason why we are launching this initiative in Delft, is because it is currently third on the top 30 murder station list across the country, and second in the province behind Mfuleni. We have worked hard to ensure that processes are in place so that when a report comes in, all protocol is followed.
“These protocols will assist SAPS in taking illegal guns off our streets and out of the hands of criminals,” Allen added.
Cape Times