11 935 SAPS firearms ‘disappear' over five years
Once again it has been revealed to the Democratic Alliance (DA) that the South African Police Service (SAPS) has been fueling the illegal arms trade. In a reply to a parliamentary question asked by the DA to the Minister of Police, he admits that in 2010/11 a total of 1 335 SAPS firearms were ‘lost or stolen'. 101 of these were rifles, 46 were shotguns and the rest were handguns. Only 167 of the firearms have been recovered.
A copy of the DA question and the Ministers reply is available upon request.
We have no doubt whatsoever that these firearms have found their way into the hands of criminals and contribute to the levels of dangerous crime police officers have to face.
This is the result of institutional failure at the SAPS. I believe that to ensure professional policing the SAPS must:
- Ensure all SAPS members receive adequate, quality training on professional policing that is continually updated and refreshed.
- Introduce a successful and visible system of accountability, with police negligence, corruption and incompetence being easy to report and harshly and swiftly dealt with.
- Make police members pay for firearms they lose.
- Be instructed to implement rather than ignore the Independent Complaints Directorate recommendations on SAPS criminality.
- Create a national anti-corruption unit to ensure that police officers involved in corruption and criminality are investigated, caught and charged.