A reply to a DA Parliamentary question has revealed that a startling 3 500 uncertified South African Police Service (SAPS) officers continue to carry firearms. It also detailed how approximately 11 000 officers do not have competency certificates.
The DA will ask Parliamentary questions to find out how many of these officers unlawfully fired their gun and ended up injuring or killing a civilian.
| Provinces | (ii) Number of Officers who do not have competency certificates | (b) Number of officers who are not yet competent, but still carrying firearms |
| Eastern Cape | 1 273 | 264 |
| Free State | 894 | 334 |
| Gauteng | 3 481 | 940 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 1 107 | 125 |
| Limpopo | 1 009 | 543 |
| Mpumalanga | 1 117 | 664 |
| North West | 975 | 308 |
| Northern Cape | 565 | 170 |
| Western Cape | 913 | 125 |
| Total | 11 334 | 3 473 |
SAPS issue firearm permits to police officials only if they can prove that they are fit and proper and that they successfully completed training to safely handle a firearm.
Therefore, SAPS have failed to ensure that thousands of police officials are in fact fit to have and use their guns. This not only puts the South African public in danger but also the police officials themselves.
Anyone carrying a firearm without a license faces up to 15 years in prison.
The police are already grossly under-trained throughout our country. For thousands of officers, who are meant to be custodians of our safety and security, to continue to carry firearms while not being properly certified, only increases danger for ordinary South Africans.
It is high time that the SAPS transform into the professional police service required to fight crime so that the people of South Africa can feel safe in their homes and on the streets.