Cape Town - The possible installation of tracking devices in firearms is what Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu believes may be the future of keeping track of lost or stolen police guns in the country.
Kamogelo Mogotsi, spokesperson for Mchunu said technology would now be considered to control the disappearance of firearms, by being able to use a tracing device.
“With regards to measures on decreasing these figures, one priority which the Ministry has emphasised is the use of technology in policing - be it in crime detection or administratively,” she said.
“The possible installation of tracking devices on firearms is a conversation that has been initiated along with other possible ways in which to ensure proper safekeeping of firearms and ammunition.”
Mogotsi did not delve further in their possible plans and implementations.
Last week, Mchunu revealed via parliamentary question, that between October 1, 2023 and March 2024, 371 police firearms as well as 17 assault rifles were either lost or stolen.
RISE Mzansi in Parliament said via their Twitter account that in his response, Mchunu said in the same period 29 128 rounds of SAPS ammunition were reported lost or stolen, as revealed by Minister Senzo Mchunu in response to RISE Mzansi in Parliament.
They said of the 371 firearms, 350 were pistols, 12 were R5 rifles, five R1 rifles and four shotguns.
They showed a graph that Western Cape accounted for 22 of these firearms which were either missing or stolen. Earlier this year, an investigation began at Mitchell's Plain Police Station after a police officer took 15 firearms and eight imitation guns to the Forensic Science Laboratory Plattekloof for analysis. But the firearms were not booked in at the facility and a receipt from the office was not returned to the station.
Five police officers were dismissed following the investigation.
Gauteng had the highest number with 121 missing firearms, followed by KwaZulu Natal with 74, Eastern Cape 55, Mpumalanga, 30, Limpopo, 29, North West, 19, Northern Cape, 11 and Free State 10.
It was further revealed that 191 police officers had been robbed of their service pistols while 120 SAPS firearms were recovered in the same period with over 120 arrests and 331 case dockets opened.
Adele Kirsten, Director of Gun Free SA said Mchunu's office would not have been transparent about the loss and theft of police firearms had it not been for the parliamentary questions posed, but that it had paved the way for solutions.
“This is a reminder of the important role that our parliament can and must play in holding the Executive to account. Civil society can also play a crucial role in framing some of these questions in our lobbying of MPs,” she said.
“However, we are beginning to see a very different approach from the new
Minister of Police to sharing information on gun related crime and violence in giving details on the recovery of guns and ammunition as well as loss and theft figures from the SAPS, and some provincial breakdowns.
“This really helps the public get some understanding of the nature of gun crime in SA. It also signals that the Minister is beginning to put in the resources to address the issue of gun crime in SA and this is very welcoming.
“In responding to the recent horrific Lusikisiki massacre in which 18 people were killed, the Minister indicated that there is a dedicated SAPS unit dealing with illegal guns.
“It would be useful to know if this is a national unit operating across provinces or just for this particular incident,” said Kirsten.
“There is no consistency in the number of guns the State has on record, leading to the conclusion that nobody, including the Registrar of the Central Firearms Registry (CFR) which is mandated to keep firearm-related records.”
“Graph 2 shows that despite reported variations in the total number of licensed guns in SA (sometimes in the same year), there has been an overall increase of between 15% and 51% from 2014 to 2022.
“Current figures indicate that in 2022 there were either 5,048,931 or 6,630,106 legally owned guns in SA compared to 4,394,669 guns in 2014.”
Dr Guy Lamb, Director: Conflict Peace building & Risk Unit, Fellow: United Nations Institute for Disarmament Affairs and Criminologist, said more had to be done to keep track and record firearms in State hands.
“There is clearly a need for improved SAPS controls over police-held weapons, especially in SAPS-13 stores (secured areas) in police stations,” he said.
“However, it is important to note that substantially more firearms are lost or stolen by civilian licence holders than compared to the police, with more than 8,000 of such firearms having been lost or stolen between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 according to the SAPS annual report,” he said.