Just over 30% of officers at Tembisa's Rabosotho police station still require operational training and three members are unauthorised to carry firearms.
Picture: File / The Citizen
Almost half of the officers at a Tembisa police station are working with expired firearms competency certificates.
The South African Police Service and provincial government revealed the operational shortcomings of Tembisa’s Rabosotho police station following written questions submitted by the opposition benches.
The Saps report was dated 9 July and raised questions about the capacity of a station that recorded 780 contact crimes between January and March this year.
‘Life-and-death decisions’
The response, compiled by Saps and relayed by the provincial government, stated that of the 281 operational members at the station, 130 members’ firearm competency certificates had expired.
Additionally, 92 members still required mandatory operational training, while three members were not authorised to carry a firearm at all.
Saps’ resource centre describes operational members as those who are “deployed to render the necessary services to the community in the demarcated sectors, including police patrols, crime prevention activities and responding to complaints”.
DA Tembisa South constituency head and member of the provincial legislature Refiloe Nt’sekhe highlighted the importance of well-trained and complaint police officers.
“Police officers are entrusted with the authority to make split-second, life-and-death decisions under extreme pressure.
“Regular competency assessments ensure they can handle service firearms safely and responsibly. Mandatory operational training strengthens tactical decision-making and equips them to respond effectively to violent crime,” stated Nt’sekhe.
Firearm competency renewals
In the crime stats for the first quarter of the year, the station was ranked sixth-highest in the country for aggravated robbery, 14th for carjacking and 20th for kidnapping.
Despite the training challenges, the station was ranked 24th nationally for the stations that detected crime as a result of police action.
The Firearms Control Act mandates the regular renewal of competency certificates, explained by gunlicence.co.za.
“The rule of thumb used is that competency certificates are valid for five years, if there are no firearms licences in that particular class of firearm.
“For example, if you were issued a competency certificate for a handgun in 2015 and did not ever submit an application for a handgun licence, you would need to renew your competency certificate in 2020.
“If, however, you applied for an occasional sporting licence for your handgun, your competency would remain valid until your handgun comes up for renewal in 2025,” the Western Cape-based firearms specialist stated.
