Police committee urges concerted operations on illegal guns after KZN haul
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Francois Beukman, welcomed the proactive operations by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) that netted 64 illegal fire-arms during a 20-day operation.
Mr Beukman said the members of the Public Order unit, the Tactical Response Team and the Provincial Task Team should be commended. “The KZN provincial police management should continue unabated with operations of this nature to ensure that illegal firearms are removed from the streets,” Mr Beukman emphasised.
The committee views it as essential that concerted operations of the same magnitude should be executed in all other provinces. The illegal firearms haul in KZN again highlights the need for specialised units and local stations to collaborate closely.
The magnitude of illegal firearm ownership in the Republic remains a huge concern to the committee. “The use of illegal and stolen firearms in armed robberies and killing of members of the public and members of SAPS is a matter that needs the highest priority of law enforcement agencies,” Mr Beukman said.
There remains a need for members of the public to cooperate with SAPS to ensure that information with regard to the location of illegal firearms is forwarded to the relevant specialised units of SAPS.
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