As gun crime in SA reaches levels not seen since the nineties, some police records show a significant spike – of between 130% and 180% – in the number of state guns since 2016.
- If accurate, what measures have been put in place to prevent loss, theft and misuse of state guns which have almost trebled in number in the past 10 years and which now outnumber civilian guns?
- If inaccurate, questions need to be asked about the police’s ability to keep accurate firearm records, which are a globally recognised strategy to stop legal guns leaking into criminal hands.
In addition to unpacking the contradictory gun numbers reported by the police, Briefing 1 identifies SA’s legal obligations to keep accurate gun records and, having summarised high profile failures, urges that firearm-related record-keeping be seen as an integral part of addressing crime and corruption in South Africa instead of an administrative police task.
