On Friday 28 May 2021, during a meeting of the provincial Committee on Community Safety, the Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lt.-Gen. Elias Mawela, admitted in his response to a question by the FF Plus that between January and March this year, 84 police firearms were reported stolen.
The FF Plus considers this a serious cause for concern as the large number of stolen police firearms could easily land in the hands of criminals, if they are not already.
Police officers who are in possession of a state-issued firearm have been declared competent to handle that weapon and, therefore, the party expects that every incident must be thoroughly investigated.
The FF Plus also asked Mawela to provide more information on, among other things, what type of firearms were stolen, how much ammunition, from which police stations, how many of these theft incidents are being investigated as well as how many of those investigations have been concluded and how many police officers are competent to handle a weapon.
In his provincial quarterly review, Mawela announced the Gauteng crime statistics which indicate that the provincial murder rate increased with 3,9% from January to March this year and attempted murder with 5%.
The biggest causes listed for the sharp spikes in these rates are arguments, misunderstandings, road rage and provocation.
Sexual offences also saw a rise of 0,9% in this past quarter. During the same period last year, 2602 cases were reported compared to this year’s 2625 – that is an increase of 23 cases.
Another alarming number is the increase in truck hijackings. In January to March 2020, 144 incidents were reported and in the same period this year, 206 cases were reported which comes down to an increase of 43,1%.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Kobus Hoffman on FF Plus
