The City has recorded a spike in firearm and drug confiscations. The Metro Police and Law Enforcement Department’s combined efforts saw notable increases in confiscating firearms, ammunition and narcotics. Year-on-year, there was a 34% increase in the number of firearms removed from the streets by the City’s Metro Police and Law Enforcement Departments.
The City has recorded a spike in firearm and drug confiscations
The bulk of the confiscations happened in policing precincts wracked by gun-related violence, and where the City’s LEAP officers and the Metro Police specialised units like the Gang & Drug Task Team and the Tactical Response Unit spend many of their days.
“Add to that the fact that SAPS has destroyed more than 250,000 weapons in the last five years, and it begs the question – where is the unlimited supply of illicit firearms coming from?”
The rate of confiscations of imitation firearms more than doubled during the same period, from 193 to 431.
| CONFISCATIONS | 2023/24 | 2022/23 |
| Firearms | 325 | 242 |
| Rounds of ammunition | 3 539 | 3 282 |
| Replica firearms | 431 | 193 |
| Drugs (total units) | 88 482,94 | 70 401,5 |
A breakdown by department is available here: https://bit.ly/3WPb9WN
The Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith said that this is no small feat and underlines the scale of the problem we have with illegal firearms.
He added, “Our staff have taken more than 300 firearms out of circulation in the last year, and yet gun violence remains never-ending.”
Smith says the City has said time and again that its enforcement agencies are capable of investigating crimes to boost conviction rates and help slow the free flow of illegal firearms and drugs into communities. He added that their hope remains that the call for the devolution of criminal investigative powers will be answered, for the benefit of City residents.
| ARRESTS 2023/24 | TOTAL |
| Discharging a firearm in a municipal area | 4 |
| Pointing a firearm | 26 |
| Possession of ammunition | 396 |
| Possession of an unlicensed firearm | 342 |
| Possession of a replica firearm | 308 |
Once City services make an arrest, the suspect/s and related evidence, like confiscated firearms or drugs, are handed over at the nearest policing precinct, for further investigation. The arresting officer, as well as any other enforcement staff on scene at the time of the arrest, compile statements for submission as part of the docket.
Illegal firearms and drugs are held in evidence until the criminal proceedings have been concluded, after which these are destroyed by SAPS.
The City has instituted watching briefs on priority cases, like firearm-related arrests, to track the progress through the criminal justice system.
‘Convictions are generally not swift, and often suspects are granted bail, only to continue their criminal ways, as we observed recently, when a suspect who was arrested on firearm charges in July, was arrested for the same crime in August. It does little for the morale of the officers on the ground, putting their lives at risk to catch perpetrators, and even less for the confidence of communities plagued by gun violence,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
