In response to Briefing 3, GFSA was invited to make a presentation on the ten elements of a successful firearms amnesty to the Portfolio Committee of Police on 15 March; at this input Brazil was identified as one of the countries that had been successful in removing hundreds of thousands of guns from circulation through a national buyback programme.

Briefing 4 […]

Briefing 3 responds to a 1 March cabinet briefing at which the Minister of Police announced his intention to declare a six-month national firearms amnesty under the Firearms Control Act (FCA). His announcement follows a groundswell of calls for action (including appeals for an amnesty) to stop rising levels of gun violence in South Africa dating from October 2014 when […]

Briefing 2 analyses three important sources of information on crime in South Africa that were released in February [Quarterly crime statistics, the most recent Victims of Crime Survey (VOCS) and the 2017-18 Budget] to better understand how the reality and perception of crime contribute to a domestic firearms race, which is fuelling gun ownership and gun violence. In sum, quarterly […]

As South Africa prepares for the 2017 budget speech, this first briefing of the year focuses on the costs of gun violence, showing that while strong gun laws save lives; poor enforcement kills, disables and costs.

The starting point is evidence that South Africa’s Firearms Control Act (2000) has not been properly enforced since 2011. Against this backdrop, this Briefing tracks […]