Fraud, corruption, negligence cause deadly gun violence
ALEXANDRA – Recover and destroy illegal guns again - Gun Free SA.
Fraud, corruption and dereliction of duty contributed significantly to more guns falling into wrong hands since 2011.
According to Ronald Menoe of NPO, Gun Free South Africa, this contributed to the epidemic in violent crimes countrywide. Menoe said this in a statement after the recent revelation of statistics on unrelenting crime by Minister of Police Beki Cele. “The latest national crime statistics show that guns are the overwhelming weapon of choice used to kill, injure, threaten and intimidate citizens. ”
A shocking 41,3 per cent of murders and 59,5 per cent of aggravated robberies in 2017/2018 were particularly related to handguns. “Between 1999 and 2000 and 2013 and 2014, handguns were used in 94 per cent of murders and 97 per cent of aggravated robberies,” the statement read.
The statement further said these crimes dipped between 2000 and 2010 when the government responded. “This was through the recovery and destruction of illegal guns and stricter controls including the Firearms Control Act of 2000 which regulates legal gun ownership before they could become illegal weapons in the wrong hands.”
The statement said this caused a decline in illegal gun possession and violent crimes but this trend seemingly reversed from 2011 when poor gun control re-emerged. Attributing this to fraud, corruption and negligence, Menoe said this shows that the crime epidemic and threat to public safety can be curbed and thousands of lives saved if the government takes urgent and decisive action to decrease the easy access to guns in communities.
For this to occur, the NPO urges Minister Cele and Police Commissioner Khehla Sithole to urgently:
- Recover and destroy unwanted, obsolete and illegally held guns, including through firearms amnesty and vigorous crime-intelligence operations
- Review and upgrade weapons storage and destruction facilities to prevent loss, theft and ensure weapons earmarked for destruction are destroyed
- Amend the administration of Firearms Control Act of 2000 to ensure rigorous restriction of access to handguns by illegal channels.
The NPO is also partnering with youth entities and NPOs to lobby for these changes. The partnership recently launched an ongoing campaign in Alex using sports and local media to alert particularly the youth who are the most victims and perpetrators of deadly illegal gun violence including threats made through toy guns.
Details: info@gfsa.org.za
