How firearms stolen from police custody pose a risk to the public

Dr Stanley Maphosa, executive director of Gun Free South Africa, addressed the alarming issue of stolen firearms from police custody after firearms were stolen from police premises at the Ulundi K9 Unit in KwaZulu-Natal. Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) executive director, Dr Stanley Maphosa, has raised the alarm over the implications offirearms stolen from state custody, following a recent incident at the Ulundi K9 Unit in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Ulundi police are investigating a theft case after suspects broke into the K9 Unit premises.

The break-in was discovered Monday morning by an officer who noticed the Logistics Office door open. Initial investigation showed the building’s back door was forced open, and suspects accessed the strong room by forcing open its roof. Stolen items include one R5 rifle, one shotgun, four pistols, 152 pistol rounds, 290 R5 rounds, 13 handcuffs, three empty R5 magazines, and six empty pistol magazines.

Investigations are ongoing, including an internal inquiry into any breach of firearm security protocols or negligence. GFSA executive director Dr Stanley Maphosa expressed deep concern over the implications of such a breach. “When guns are stolen from state custody, it represents a seriousbreach in the firearms control management systemand directly increases the risk to the public,” Maphosa said.

[paywall]

He highlighted that publicly available data indicate that illegal guns in South Africa primarily originate from domestic sources, specifically firearms legally owned by civilians and the state. Recent SA Police Service figures (2023/24) report 9,193 lost or stolen firearms (25 per day), with police losing 741 (two per day) and civilians losing 8,452 (23 per day).

[/paywall]