Thousands of guns handed over to police during firearm amnesty period
Most of the weapons will be destroyed after it is determined whether they have possibly been used in the commission of any crimes.
Picture: iStock
South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Vishnu Naidoo said an amnesty period in which people were encouraged to hand illegal or unwanted firearms into police had resulted in the collection of nearly 1,500 guns and 15,000 rounds of ammunition.
1,248 handguns, 75 shotguns, and 142 rifles have been handed in in total.
“It is very encouraging that people have taken advantage of this amnesty period and handed in 1,465 guns and 14,861 rounds of ammunition,” Naidoo said, adding that guns were the most commonly used instrument used in violent crimes in South Africa.
“People that are illegally in possession of firearms and ammunition are being encouraged to take advantage of this amnesty period to hand over such guns without fear of prosecution,” said Naidoo.
However: “Any person that hands over a firearm that has been used in the commission of a crime will not enjoy such exoneration,” he clarified.
The amnesty will continue until May 31, 2020, at which point the weapons will be audited for the purpose of destruction.
The SAPS have destroyed illegal guns before, and smelted over 20,000 of them on November 5, 2019.
All confiscated firearms will undergo ballistic testing to determine whether or not they have been used in the commission of a crime or multiple crimes before they are considered for destruction.
According to Naidoo, the many weapons are being stored in nine centralised storage facilities, one in each province, and are handled by SAPS officials and amnesty officials who have been selected after a thorough vetting and screening process.
“Only those that met the identified criteria have been appointed to handle amnesty firearms handed in,” he said.
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