STATEMENT BY THE MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY, ALDERMAN JP SMITH
In the past week, the City’s enforcement agencies have taken at least 22 firearms from our streets – a record just mere days before the local government elections that again highlights the effectiveness and prowess of City enforcement agencies.
Between July and September, our Law Enforcement and Metro Police Departments confiscated 61 firearms, 38 imitation firearms and 907 rounds of ammunition.
In the last eight days, officers have recovered 22 firearms in several areas including Valhalla Park, Delft, Atlantis, Ottery, Bonteheuwel and Lakeside.
Two of the most notable incidents were:
- The arrest of five suspects in Lakeside following a fatal shooting incident in Steenberg, who were found in possession of two semi-automatic rifles and a pistol
- The arrest of two suspects in Ottery, found with eight pistols in their vehicle
But these successes again underscore South Africa’s illegal firearm crisis, and yet the criminal justice system seems ill-equipped or unwilling to tackle the crisis.
The people of Cape Town deserve answers, and action. The rate and type of firearms being confiscated are a real cause of concern, along with the low conviction rate for firearms-related crimes.
National government must step up, or extend additional policing powers to local government, because the deployment of the South African National Defence Force, while welcomed, has clearly not made the intended impact.
And not only is the conviction rate for the many murders, attempted murders and the possession of illegal firearms and ammunition woefully low, but there appears to be little to no movement on dismantling the gang structures and the many challenges that accompany it, like drug running and extortion.
Even more puzzling is the apparent inaction on identifying and shutting down the supply line of illegal firearms.
We understand that SAPS is under pressure to face the ever-growing workload, and that is why the City has, on numerous occasions now, engaged the Police Ministry to extend investigative powers of our enforcement agencies to help.
The continued confiscation and arrests linked to illegal firearms are encouraging and gives us hope that change is possible, but we simply cannot afford to delay any longer – we need concrete and decisive action, and we need it now.
