The Eastern Cape accounts for 15% of firearm-related murders in SA, putting it among the most violent provinces in the country.
According to a study by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), five provinces account for 93% of all gun-related murders in SA.
Citing an increase in mass shootings, continued gang violence, and police resources being channelled in the wrong directions, experts believe these figures could become worse before there is an improvement.
Released earlier in October, the report, compiled by independent researcher David Bruce for the ISS, painted a bleak picture of how violence had escalated in specific areas across the country.
It highlighted how firearms were increasingly becoming the weapons of choice for criminals.
The report highlighted the “seven main gun-related crimes” as murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, hijacking, residential robberies, non-residential robberies and illegal possession of guns and ammunition.
But by far the most shocking figures related to the steep increase in murders.
Between 2012 and 2023 the total number of murders recorded, according to official police crime statistics, jumped from 15,554 to 27,494.
Of the 27,494, firearms were used in 41% of those cases, totalling 11,347.
In the 2023/2024 police financial year, the number increased to 11,945 firearm-related murders.
More specifically, over the same period, the Eastern Cape accounted for 15.1% of those murders, with 1,806 committed.
These figures are expected to increase when the next statistics are released, mostly due to the frequency with which mass shootings have been reported in the province in recent weeks.
The provinces that topped the log were Gauteng (27.7%), KwaZulu-Natal (26.8%) and the Western Cape (19.4%).
In announcing the latest police statistics in August, police minister Senzo Mchunu said the 30 police stations that recorded the highest murder rates in SA were all situated in these four provinces.
“Over the period of 2022/2023 and 2023/2024, about 75% of the country’s firearm murders occurred in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
“These provinces, together with the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga, account for 93.5% of firearm murders in SA in 2023/2024.
“Guns are far more deadly than other weapons used in crime. Their widespread use makes crime, overall, more deadly,” the report said.
The study suggested that the police develop a focused strategy to reduce the number of illegal firearms on the streets, which would effectively reduce gun-related violence.
“Dedicated firearm crime reduction units with adequate intelligence support should be established,” the study found.
“Their key performance measure must be a reduction in murders, attempted murders and robberies involving firearms.”
When asked about the figures referred to in the ISS study, police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli said they were based on the police’s annual crime statistics and were open to public scrutiny.
Well-known attorney for firearm-related matters, Martin Hood, agreed with the findings, saying police resources were being wasted by “incompetent management” and more efforts should be put into crime fighting and law enforcement.
He referred to the ongoing investigation into firearm competency certificates linked to beleaguered gun dealer Karen Webb, and the police’s “unlawful conduct” in seizing firearms from their lawful owners.
In the case, 1,700 firearm owners are being targeted after having done their competency training through Webb, who is facing several charges related to allegedly providing guns to criminals.
Among these charges is fraud related to alleged irregularities in people’s competency training.
However, Hood said the vast majority of these firearm owners did nothing wrong, and the police were wasting resources fighting court battles.
“The Professional Firearms Trainers Council (PFTC) has already assisted the police in identifying 200 individuals from the 1,700 that should be investigated due to red flags on their competency training.
“However, the task team involved in this investigation keeps growing, and the idiots heading up the police legal services are wasting taxpayers’ money on unnecessary legal matters rather than fighting crime.
“The level of incompetence the police are showing draws into question their ability to fight crime, enforce the law and remove actual illegal firearms from the street.”
HeraldLIVE
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