Lost, stolen firearms remains SAPS' biggest headache, stats show

ONLY 16 out of 170 firearms reported stolen or lost from the SAPS armouries have been recovered over the past five years.

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has disclosed this statistic when responding to written parliamentary questions from DA MP and Police Portfolio Committee Chairperson Ian Cameron.

In a separate reply to another set of questions, Cachalia disclosed that only 559 firearms had been successfully recovered from a total of 3,422 firearms lost between 2019 and 2024.

Cachalia would not be drawn into commenting on police stations and ranks of officers prone to firearm losses and theft.

“The information regarding the high-risk police stations, cluster divisions, and ranks of officers concerning loss or theft of firearms cannot be disclosed as this may reveal specific vulnerabilities, which may be exploited, thereby posing risks to the SAPS and its members,” he added.

However, Cachalia said norms and standards applicable to the safety and security of armouries in the SAPS were regulated in terms of the national instruction that deals with the management of movable government property.

To prevent weaponry from falling into the hands of criminals, the acting minister said regular inspections by immediate commanders, bi-annual stocktaking committee inspections, and unannounced checks by internal audits and the Auditor-General were being conducted.

Cameron stressed that the majority of the unaccounted firearms are likely circulating within criminal networks now, posing a grave danger to public safety.

“They (firearms) include high-powered, semi-automatic rifles such as R5s, which carry far greater destructive capacity and are frequently targeted by organised criminal networks,” he said.

He said he was skeptical of the measures put in place, suggesting they were either ineffective or poorly enforced.

Cape Times