A new Firearm Amnesty was introduced for a period of six months, commencing on August 1, 2020, and lasting until January 31, 2021. The previous amnesty period, which was also intended for a period of six months, from December 2019 to May 2020, was interrupted by the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the South African Police Service received a resounding 46 714 firearms.
However, it is believed that there are many more firearms that still need to be surrendered and the SAPS is confident that the response to the previous amnesty would have been even more impressive had it not been for the pandemic.The lockdown restrictions prevented people from handing in their unlicensed firearms and ammunition. This had prompted the Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele, to request Parliament to approve a new six month amnesty period.
The approval of the new amnesty period was published in the Government Gazette on July 31, 2020, and allows all persons with illegal or unwanted firearms and ammunition to hand these in at their nearest police stations.
The SAPS is urging people to take advantage of this period either to hand in firearms and ammunition for destruction, or to renew their competency licences. The national crime statistics once again show that firearms are the preferred weapon in the commission of most violent crimes. Reducing the circulation of illegal firearms may reduce the scourge of violent crime significantly.
Please note that that no indemnity will be granted for a firearm used to commit a crime. All firearms that have been handed in will undergo ballistic testing to ensure that they have not been used in the commission of any crimes, before they can be considered for destruction. For Firearm Amnesty enquiries please contact the FLASH Call Centre on 012 353 6111, or, e-mail cfrequiry@saps.gov.za.
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