Police Oversight and Community Safety
In respect of the proliferation of illegal firearms and ammunition in the province, and the ease of access to these by gangsters:
(a) What is the estimated number of illegal firearms currently in circulation in the province, (b) what are the known or suspected sources of illegal firearms in the province and (c) what is the number of legally registered firearms that have been reported lost or stolen from (i) private owners and (ii) security companies in (aa) 2024 and (bb) 2025 to date?
(a) The estimated number of illegal firearms in circulation within the Western Cape is extremely difficult to determine, and any precise figure would be speculative. Between January 2024 and 31 August 2025, the South African Police Service in the Western Cape circulated 1240 legally owned firearms as lost or stolen. Although several firearms are recovered through police operations, these cannot always be conclusively linked to those reported lost or stolen. In many cases the firearm is unidentifiable with serial numbers filed off or altered, requiring a separate and time-consuming identification process. The overall estimation is further complicated by questions of how far back data should be considered.
Accordingly, there is no reliable estimate available for the total number of illegal firearms in circulation in the Western Cape.
(b) Investigations conducted by the South African Police Service have identified several sources contributing to the proliferation of illegal firearms in the Western Cape. These include the theft and loss of firearms from private owners and security service providers; the diversion of state-owned firearms through theft or unlawful distribution, some of which have been the subject of criminal investigations and successful prosecutions; as well as the smuggling of firearms across national borders by organised crime networks.
In addition, intelligence reports indicate that firearms are frequently recycled within gang structures, while isolated incidents of the conversion of imitation or blank-firing weapons into functional firearms have also been detected. Ongoing operations are directed at addressing these sources through enhanced compliance inspections, targeted investigations, and the strengthening of supply chain management within the Service.
(c) (i) (aa) Private owners: January to December 2024 - Total of 710 firearms circulated as lost/stolen.
(bb) Private owners: January to 31st August 2025 (date of data extraction) - Total 388 firearms circulated as lost/stolen.
(ii) (aa) Security companies: January to December 2024 - Total of 84 firearms circulated as lost/stolen.
(bb) Security companies: January to 31st August 2025 (date of data extraction) - Total 58 firearms circulated as lost/stolen.
