120,000 firearms melted down i

120,000 firearms melted down in 4 years

The latest batch of firearms destroyed in South Africa will make communities safer, says police chief.

120,000 firearms melted down i

More than than 120,000 firearms and 1 million rounds of ammunition have been destroyed by the South African Police Service during the past four years as part of a drive to make South African communities life safer.

The statistics were revealed by the National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega at a Firearms Destruction Day held in Vereeniging, where 14,382 firearms were melted down. In January almost 10,000 firearms were destroyed.

Phiyega said some of these firearms were voluntarily surrendered to the SAPS and were once legally owned, while some were seized after being used in crimes or were confiscated during operations, and others were unlawfully possessed firearms. This number also include firearms that were previously owned by the SAPS and other official institutions.

She called on people who are aware of any illegal firearms to do their duty by calling 0860010111 and reporting it : “We do believe that we still have much to do to recover all unlawful firearms from the criminals in this country. We need everyone to come on board and work with us.”

According to Phiyega, South Africans must not forget that violence is also committed with lawfully owned firearms. This includes crimes against women and children. “It is heart-rending when a gun is used to commit an act of violence against a woman who is an intimate partner,” she added.

South Africa introduced stricter gun laws in 2000, increasing the age limit to 21 years, enforcing license renewals and limiting the number of firearms each person can own. This has led to many citizens voluntarily surrendering their firearms to the police.

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