Numbers of illegally owned guns fuelling gun violent crimes are currently outrageous, but there is hope.
The admission of a lack of capacity to tackle organised crime in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces by the Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, shook many people.
While their surprise can be credited to many factors, one outstanding reason is that most South Africans are used to being gaslit and have become accustomed to it, as a result fail to recognise the first step in problem solving- acknowledging one exists.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) rejected the minister’s admission, claiming it is an excuse and equates to surrendering the office’s duty to protect its people.
They further pointed the office of the minister has had years to plan against gang crimes, yet underfunding, weak intelligence, and poor prosecution have fuelled gangs to terrorise people and businesses.
The DA and Cachalia are, in fact, in agreement when it comes to the reasons the Department of Police has been failing to end organised crime.
While there are internal problems within the policing system such as: the physical filing system, corruption, police officers not reporting lost or stolen guns- the Minister called for better policing during the eleventh edition of the National Excellence Awards for police officers.
The above needs to work hand in hand with active citizens to lower the rate of organised crime in South Africa.
According to Gideon Joubert of SA Gun Owners Association, there is about three to six million unlicensed firearms in circulation nationally. This contributes to the rising crime levels and makes it difficult to trace perpetrators as the guns either do not have serial numbers, or the serial numbers that are found on the gun belong to some civilian who lost it and did not report.
Last month, Clay Taylor, a gun-free SA researcher, suggested that guns need to be recovered. Lost or stolen guns need to be brought back into the licensing system.
To help with this, citizens are urged to report lost or stolen guns. So far, 22 guns per day are reported missing by civilians and two firearms are reported missing or stolen in the police department per day.
These numbers are not matching the overall numbers of guns circulating across the country in illegal hands. That means there are people – police and citizens – not reporting their lost or stolen guns.
South Africa belongs to all who live in it and all who live in it ought to play a part in keeping it safe and crime free. Report illegal firearms to the South African Police service (SAPS) by calling 08600 10111 or using the MySAPS App.
FEATURED IMAGE: Lulah Mapiye profile image. Photo: Paul Botes
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