In response to your invitation, we have prepared a presentation as follows:

A short overview of the relationship between firearms, crime and violence

1. The Strategic Approach of the SAPS to eradicate the proliferation of firearms and resultant availability and use in crime and violence.

The Firearms Control Bill is a primary legislative tool to assist this process.

Firearm crime and violence in South Africa today is a threat to poverty alleviation, economic growth, foreign and local investment, job creation, tourism and political stability. Perhaps even more significantly, it stands between us and a safe and secure environment.

The easy availability of guns in our society and the high level of gun violence we experience has a significant impact on the budget, capacity and morale of the SAPS. Members of the South African Police Service have become specific targets and victims of such violence. Other government departments, civil society and our economy as a whole suffer the same negative impact.

We recognise and have many times repeated that the crime environment in South Africa is complex and there is no one solution that will turn it around.

The Firearms Control Bill, rigorously implemented and appropriately supported by other mechanisms that we will today outline, represents a major tool, essential to our fight against violent crime.

It must however be acknowledged in explicit terms: no legislation and no policing of that legislation can ever overcome a generalised disregard for the law. As individuals, as communities and as a nation we daily suffer the impact of widespread complicity with crime and criminals and widespread rejection of compliance with the law.

Success in combating crime requires a balance where law enforcement is supported by a society that wants that law to work and is prepared to work within the law, and an economy that discourages crime and is conducive to compliance with the law. We need an inclusive and committed approach to crime prevention, with the full participation of communities and industries across the country in programmes to destroy the market for stolen goods and to promote active compliance with the laws of the land.

Further to this, we must ensure that we have effective well-crafted laws that reflect government policy and can be implemented and upheld by our criminal justice system and interdepartmental structures.

he Firearms Control Bill certified and currently before you is I believe, just such a law. Our legal team headed by Advocate Kok has worked in conjunction with some of the finest drafters of legislation in the country. Since November last year, the team has consulted and worked with the State Law Advisors to ensure that the Bill meets the requirements of parliament.

As a result, the stringent measures encapsulated in the Bill, commensurate with the need to dramatically reduce firearm-related crime and violence, has been achieved within a constitutional framework. This is no small achievement.

We have been criticised for delays in the process – and have been taken to task as a result. We have not allowed this criticism to compromise the process; we have at all times followed the responsible route.

This Bill will help us reduce gun violence through more effective control of legal firearms and the resultant containment of loss of firearms into the illegal pool. It provides equally for control of state owned firearms and will be implemented evenhandedly across the board. It will help us develop a culture of responsible gun ownership and usage, inclusive of practices of government departments and para-statals.

It will help us rid our schools and other public places of guns and will be central to a campaign to reduce youth violence and change the aspirations of our youth to acquire guns. It will help us save lives.

Firearms have been a priority of the SAPS since 1996 and formed part of the National Policing Priorities and Objectives since 1995. With the adoption of the National Crime Combating Strategy (NCCS), the approach to firearms was also aligned to incorporate a more comprehensive, focussed and manageable strategy that will aid the implementation of the FCB. In the shorter term, this strategy is already strengthening our operational focus to combat firearm related crime. The strategy follows an integrated approach that embodies various disciplines and includes other departments and role players, to achieve optimum results.

The aim of the current strategy is focused on the policing of both legal and illegal firearms and aims to eradicate the proliferation of firearms for use and availability in crime and violence in South Africa.

Development and implementation of the strategy is based on four pillars:

1. Development and maintenance of appropriate firearm related regulators

The FCB is the primary legislation that is central to this strategy.

Special attention is given to the functions of the Central Firearms Registry (CFR), the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Criminal Record Centre (CRC), and police stations

(Designated Firearm Officers). This will include capacity building, staffing and equipment for implementation of the FCB at central and local levels.

This pillar aims to stop legal firearms becoming illegal, reduce demand for firearms, mobilise intelligence driven operations within our crime combating approach, to include detection of the origins of illegal firearms, establishing links between different cases and criminal activity, focused organised crime interventions and cross-border operations.

Inter- and intra-departmental education and awareness programmes, community- based interventions and communication campaigns are managed in this pillar. Programmes target social awareness, alternative conflict resolution and the prevailing culture of violence.

We have already embarked on this strategy, in advance of the promulgation of the FCB, in accordance with the re-engineering of the CFR and existing ongoing operational activities. These are also supported by crime prevention initiatives, inclusive of public awareness and education campaigns.

The strategy is supported by other programmes of the SAPS:

The Service Delivery Improvement Programme

The National Crime Combating Strategy

The National Crime Prevention Strategy.

The FCB will significantly strengthen the ability of the SAPS to police both legally and illegally possessed firearms. The introduction of the granting of a Competency Certificate and tighter provisions for the granting of a firearm license will structure discretion - and provide the restructured CFR with protection against abuse of the system and against the granting of licences to those who should not own guns. The widespread introduction of DFO’s provides for local capacity to further enhance this framework for responsible gun ownership and usage in South Africa. As a result, we anticipate that fewer guns will be lost from the legal into the illegal pool.

In terms of the illegal pool, the FCB makes a clear distinction between what is legal and what is not, gives the police improved powers of search and seizure, and presumptions that pave the way for more effective policing. The limitation of ammunition will reduce access to ammunition for criminal use.

The reduction of the proliferation of firearms and criminal use of firearms continues to be a top priority of the SAPS.

This priority cuts across several focus areas:

• organised crime
• serious and violent crime (with impact of firearms on murder, armed robbery, heists and hijacks)
• crimes against women
• youth violence
• alcohol and drug related crimes
• international/cross border crime.

Whilst the Illegal Firearm Investigation Unit (IFIU) has primary responsibility, more emphasis is now placed on joint operations and on international cooperation, especially in Southern Africa.

The role of illegal firearms in violent crime in South Africa has influenced the development of the current SAPS strategic approach or National Crime Combating Strategy (NCCS).

Operation Crackdown, launched on 1 April 2000 under the NCCS, is based on a geographical and an organised crime approach. The geographical approach targets 274 police stations, including so-called public order flash points and high crime areas in 66 crime combating zones with intelligence driven operations.

Operations based on this geographical approach are determined by an ongoing crime threat and pattern analysis. Similarly operations to affect the organised crime approach are based on an organised crime threat analysis. Both approaches rely on the effective utilization of crime combating task groups and crime intelligence.

Where relevant the activities of the IFU are integrated with those of the Task Groups and consequently form part of Operation Crackdown.

More than 7 000 illegal firearms have been traced and seized in Operation Crackdown, through a combination of searches (persons, vehicles and premises) roadblocks and the following up of information. (Figures until 10 August 2000).

A bilateral cooperation agreement between the governments of Mozambique and South Africa has led to the very successful Rachel Operations, and the destruction, in Mozambique, of more than 14,000 firearms and a variety of other weapons and explosives.

A number of specific provisions of the Bill will greatly enhance police operations:

• The Bill excludes certain devices from the definition of firearms, resulting in a smaller area of policing and assisting the identification of those that are firearms and problematic. Airguns and antique firearms are excluded from the provisions of the Bill as are those devices not considered as firearms, (such as paint ball guns).
• The Bill introduces specific provision for the marking of firearms with identification marks so as to make it more difficult to remove the serial number and easier to complete the evidential chain. Currently, some are merely engraved and are thus easy to remove and it is extremely difficult to recover the serial number if erased. The new legislation states that identification marks be punched into the metal of a firearm. Regulations will indicate the depth.
• A centralized data base linking the CFR to dealers, manufacturers and gunsmiths will provide for better control and allow for closer cooperation between the state and the industry and will facilitate the tracing of firearms.
• The Bill regulates the possession of firearm parts such as slides, breach blocks and magazines. Possession of these parts without holding a licence for a firearm designed to bear these parts, is an offence. Thus the police will be able to charge a person at a scene where a person is in possession of these parts and does not have a licence. This will often make it possible to prevent the building of guns.
• The Bill provides for more effective control of state owned firearms. Official institutions such as SAPS and SANDF will be required to have their own data bases linked to the CFR. This will assist in tracing any of their firearms recovered at crime scenes. Furthermore, individual members will now be required to have a permit with them when they are in possession of a firearm belonging to an Official institution.
• The Bill supports legislation such as the Domestic Violence Act by creating new grounds to remove a firearm from a potential conflict situation such as is encountered in the domestic environment.
• Another important preventive measure, in terms of clause 106, provides that the Court upon convicting a person of certain crimes, for example where the firearm is used in the commission of a crime, must, upon conviction, declare that person unfit.
• Clause 110 requires a person who carries a firearm to carry the required licence or permit with him or her. Failure to do so gives a police official the authority to seize the firearm and retain it until such time as the licence or permit has been produced.
• Clause 111 allows a police official who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has or recently had a firearm or ammunition in his or her possession, to request certain information, such as personal particulars, particulars of and the whereabouts of the firearm.
• The Bill allows the taking of fingerprints and genetic samples under certain circumstances. This will provide essential assistance in identification or exclusion of a person as a potential accused.
• Furthermore, in clause 117 the Bill provides police powers to seize a firearm for the purpose of ballistic testing.
• The presumptions assisting the prosecution of a person found in possession of firearms and ammunition will greatly assist the police.
• The introduction of administrative fines for less serious offences provides for speedy processing and resolution of cases, and releases police officials (and court personnel) from lengthy court trials.
• Competency testing and stricter controls on granting and policing of licenses will reduce the number of guns entering the illegal pool through loss and theft, encourage better all-round discipline and there will be less crimes resulting from irresponsible ownership, storage and usage.

The FCB provides a framework for a sustained, stringent approach to illegal firearms and supports and makes more achievable the objectives of Operation Crackdown and the NCCS in this regard.

To pave the way for the implementation of the FCB, we will embark on the following new initiatives driven from national level:

The administration of the FCB will be integrated into the functions and responsibilities of the Station Commissioner and other levels of management in the South African Police Service.

The initiative is aimed at Station Management to:

• Enhance the administration of the FCB
• Enhance the Management of Exhibits (SAP 13) in particular firearms
• Enhance the Management of SAPS owned Firearms (SAPS Stocks)
• Establish a Management Environment conducive for the functioning of DFO’s.

New management procedures are required for the SAPS firearms stock. The initiative is aimed at ensuring SAPS compliance to FCB including the following:

• Audit of State owned firearms
• Ensuring the competency of members issued with firearms
• Standardisation and Reduction of SAPS Firearm stocks.

The South African Police Service is responsible for the management and safekeeping of firearms, for instance as exhibits in criminal cases. To avoid risk of loss, mismanagement and theft, the initiative aims to reduce the number of firearms in SAP 13 safekeeping at station level including the following:

• Audit of all firearms in the SAP 13
• Enhancing the evidential value of exhibits (Ibis testing, tracing etc)
• Fast tracking of firearm disposal at station Level
• Retrieval of redundant firearms to National Logistics for disposal
• Destroying of firearms not otherwise disposed of.

In addition, SAP 13 clerks and officers responsible to manage SAP 13 stores
will be trained/updated in existing and new instructions regarding
firearms.

Tracing of Illegal Firearms

The retrieval of illegal firearms by the SAPS will be supported by initiatives to trace the origin of these firearms, drawing the line between loss and retrieval and/or availability for use in crime. This is a key initiative to combat firearm related crime. The initiative is aimed at the tracing of all firearms relating to criminal use in the existing control processes. This will include the following:

• Identification of Firearm and origin (Manufacturing/Ownership)
• Tracing the firearm from loss to retrieval, recording criminal use, specific trends, involvement of organised nature and linkages to criminal cases.

Firearms are currently imported/exported into and in transit through South Africa to other Southern African Countries. An information system is needed to detect such import, export and transit. The initiative is aimed at determining the extent of possible irregularities regarding the import/export and transit of firearms and ammunition in South Africa, to include the following:

• Inspection of all import/export and transit permits to detect possible irregularities
• Auditing degree of compliance to the conditions contained in permits issued, and the current control processes at ports of entry.

The coordination of information and intelligence informs management regarding problems and drives operations relating to firearms. Information is gathered through crime statistics, ad hoc research and targeted intelligence. This will be used to inform appropriate preventative and reactive measures.

More effective utilisation of current computerised information and analysis capacity is planned. An information management framework will drive the detection of illegal firearms, criminal use and the identification of control dysfunctions. This includes:

• Reassessment of Crime Threat Analysis relating to firearms
• Introduction of Computerised Analysis (e.g. Business Intelligence System)
• Development of new methodologies and information mechanisms to enable the combating of firearm related crime.

The thrust of the FCB is in line with an international trend towards much stricter control of firearms. Two current initiatives, the development of SARPCCO protocol and the firearm protocol to United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime typify this approach and match the FCB in principle and intention.

During the course of the hearings submissions have referred to a number of technical issues. The Department is assisting with technical formulation of alternative provisions where appropriate and as required by the Portfolio Committee. The team will also advise on practical implications of suggestions. It is not uncommon to hear experts differ and it is important that different perspectives are considered and where possible, technical advice will be accommodated.

A number of valid practical concerns have been raised by various interest groups. Where these do not affect the principles underlying the Bill, nor the ability of the Bill to achieve its objectives, we will make recommendations for their inclusion in the deliberations of the committee.

In response to repeated concerns regarding implementation and resources it is important to note that we have wherever possible addressed requirements in the Bill in a flexible way, so that there is a less expensive or taxing alternative to the ideal. For instance, in the matter of relicensing, procedures and schedules will be determined practically from time to time according to the resources available.

In terms of submissions made regarding the issuing, storage, use and carrying of firearms belonging to the police and other institutions, the Bill makes provision for competency testing and the permit system to improve control over institutionally owned firearms.

Concern has also been expressed in terms of the drafting of regulations. As the committee is aware, regulations cannot be completed until the exact provisions of the Bill are known. Much work has however already been done in preparation and the Regulations will be delivered as soon as possible.

The Minister has promised full consultation with interest groups in the drafting of Regulations. This reflects our commitment to partnership between the state and civil society, specifically regarding the criteria for accreditation of organisations, and for renewal of licenses. Active compliance by legal owners of firearms is of course essential to the success of the Bill. To this end, Regulations must wherever possible accommodate the needs and experience of those organisations that will assist with implementation and administration of the Bill.

Issues of capacity and resources are also addressed in transitional arrangements in the Bill. These make provision for the validity and auditing of existing licenses to remain until relicensing can be undertaken.

Recommendations, accommodations and alterations to the Bill will be submitted to the Portfolio Committee by early September.

The SAPS is responsible for the successful implementation of the Bill, in cooperation with other key departments and official institutions as defined in the Bill. Accredited organisations of the sporting, hunting and collectors fraternity, dealers, manufacturers as well as each and every firearm owner or potential firearm owner will play a role in the implementation of the new FCB and the need for and value of this cooperation is not be underestimated.

The implementation of the FCB has four distinct areas. Action steps have a cross cutting effect, inter-related to one another. A number of activities will run concurrently, hence the importance of a multi-dimensional approach to implementation.

The establishment of sustained adequate capacity in the SAPS to ensure effective implementation of this Bill is the focus of current action.

The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is currently concluding a BPR-study on the re-engineering of all processes involved in the regulation and licensing of legal firearms, in close cooperation with internal and external role players. An amount of R8 million has been allocated for this BPR-study. The scope of this project is the design of a detailed integrated firearm control business-, information- and technology infrastructure for the Department of Safety and Security. This includes the defining of the location, nature (within the State) and broad organisational characteristics of the organisation as a whole with regard to the firearm control process.

The control process tracks firearms from manufacture or import to disposal, including the requirements anticipated in the FCB, regulations, policies and internal governance, and will result in a firearm control system within the SAPS and across relevant departmental boundaries. Having fully investigated the current infrastructure and processes, the BPR is well placed to design a re-engineered system.

The BPR process was initiated in May 2000 and it is foreseen that the project will be completed at the end of June 2001, after which a new firearm control system will be implemented in the South African Police Service. This will be an integrated system to replace the current Firearms Register system.

The focus of the licensing process is moving away from the CFR and will be carried out by Designated Firearms Officials.

The DFO will be responsible for:

• receipt of applications
• checking the completeness and accuracy of the information
• background checks
• inspections.

The DFO will then be required to make recommendations regarding the fitness of the applicant to receive a licence.

A DFO model has been developed and piloted in the Western Cape, providing for dedicated capacity at station, area and provincial levels. DFO’s on these three levels are primarily responsible for implementing the provisions of this Bill. A DFO will be appointed at each police station throughout the country. The rank structure will vary according to the anticipated capacity required at specific police stations. Officers will be appointed to provide over section 11 hearings (clause 105 of the new Bill) to determine the fitness of a person to posses a firearm(s).

The Western Cape pilot model provides an opportunity to identify good practices and to avoid future dysfunction in implementation in the other provinces. This will commence during September 2000 and completion date is set for the end of March 2001. Designated firearms officials will receive intensive training on both the new FCB and Regulations as well as on the new firearm control computer system to be implemented at police stations. This will be achieved via the training of trainers at provincial and area levels who will be responsible to train the designated firearms officers at stations.

The CFR will play a pivotal role in the implementation of the FCB. The CFR will recruit 135 members during this financial year. 37 recruits have been appointed during the last few weeks and the next group will be selected within the next month. This will amount in total to a 37% increase in personnel at the CFR.

50 posts are earmarked and will be filled during this financial year. This will ensure that all fingerprints related to firearm issues would receive prompt attention and will contribute to the effective implementation of the Bill.

Forensic Laboratory:

20 experts will be enlisted within this financial year to assist investigating officers during their investigations.

To address the import and export of firearms members will be appointed to the Border Police unit and that the focus will be on the twenty border posts handling most import and export of firearms.

39 members will be enlisted countrywide.

An additional amount of R 72 897 000,00 has been earmarked for the next two financial years to appoint members at the above-mentioned components /units as the need arises.

The following components/units will receive logistical as well as IT hardware during this financial year for purposes of implementing the Bill:

Police Stations, Central Firearms Register, Border Police Units, Illegal Firearms Investigation Units

This includes logistics items such as vehicles, metal detectors, etching equipment, x- ray scanners, fax machines and computers. 40 computer stations have already been delivered to the CFR. Computer equipment will be installed at 55 police stations in the next few months.

An additional amount of R62 103 000,00 is allocated for logistical and IT equipment for the next two financial years.

The implementation of identified initiatives can be regarded as a pre-support phase of the actual implementation phases. These initiatives will contribute significantly to the effectiveness and smooth running of the implementation of the Bill.

Respective state departments are currently conducting audits of their firearms in close cooperation with representatives of the SAPS. The aim of these audits is firstly to rectify the records of the respective department as well as the Firearm Register system and secondly to identify obsolete, redundant firearms, to be handed in for destruction. 1286 firearms and 20 000 rounds of ammunition have already been handed in for destruction. An estimated 320 000 firearms will be handed in for destruction during this year.

Department of Correctional Services

National Intelligence Agency

South African Revenue Services

Department of Public Works

Department of Trade and Industry

Department of Nature Conservation KwaZulu Natal

South African National Defence Force

South African Police Service

Gauteng Provincial Government

Government Communication and Information Systems

Department of Land Affairs.

The computer systems of the various departments are currently being connected to the CFR for more effective control over state owned firearms. The CFR has a fully supportive and cooperative relationship with the various departments. The target date for completion of the audit is the 31^st of December 2001.

There are those who no longer need or want their legally owned firearms. In support of the intention of the Bill to reduce the proliferation of firearms, voluntary hand in of these firearms should be encouraged. A national instruction has been formulated in terms of procedure to be followed where owners wish to hand in firearms at police stations. An awareness and education campaign will support this instruction both internally and externally.

Approximately 190 000 firearms licensed in the name of deceased owners are currently in circulation in South Africa. An awareness campaign will be launched to clarify procedures for licensing, to allay unfounded fears of prosecution and to ensure that these firearms are officially licenced or alternatively destroyed before the actual implementation of the FCB.

The Regulations will provide clarity on procedures for the implementation of the Bill. Issues such as accreditation of associations and procedures for competency testing will be dealt with in detail in the regulations. These will give substance to the competency certificate that will be issued by the SAPS.

All relevant role-players will be consulted in the drafting of the Regulations to ensure that optimal cooperation and accountability will follow.

Renewal of Firearms Licences:

All privately owned and state owned firearms as stipulated in the FCB are to be re-registered on the CFR and the information will be updated and maintained at all times.

A once off re-registration (audit) of all firearms in South Africa is envisaged, to achieve maximum voluntary compliance.

Firearm owners will be required to report at their nearest police station. A DFO will compare the detail of the firearm and licence with the recorded information. The firearm owner will then receive proof that his or her firearm(s) and his or her licence(s) or permit(s) have been officially re-registered on the computer system. The firearm owner will also receive a briefing on the requirements of the FCB, Regulations and procedure to follow during the transitional period.

Based on a conservative estimate of the time required for this process, an average of 76 000 firearms can be re-registered per month throughout the country. At this rate it is estimated that it will take approximately 48 months to re-register the 3.5 million firearms currently on the system. A cycle based on year of birth will facilitate a constant flow in the re-registration of firearms.

The re-registration of institutionally owned firearms will commence as soon as the relicensing of individually owned firearms is completed.

The person designated as responsible for the institution will report to the nearest police station and set an appointment with the Designated Firearm official to audit the firearms of the Institution.

It is estimated that it will take approximately twelve months to re-register all the firearms belonging to institutions.

As from a date yet to be specified, all new applicants must comply with all the applicable requirements of the FCB. These applicants will receive a new licence visually significantly different from the current licence. There will undoubtedly be an increase of fees for these new licences since the current fee for licensing is known to be significantly below cost. The new fee of licences will be determined during the BPR study based on cost.

A total amount of R217 000 000-00 has been allocated over three financial years to implement the FCB. Attached find a more detailed budget breakdown.

The South African Police Service will strive to reduce the proliferation of firearms, establish a culture of responsible firearm ownership and reduce firearm violence in South Africa, with the FCB as a central mechanism for the achievement of these essential goals.

The major focus will be the prevention of firearm related violence.

Education and awareness programmes will particularly target the youth, aiming to change the culture of violence and to reduce gun violence.

Social crime prevention initiatives and programmes are integrated into the broader strategies of this component and will be implemented through community based partnerships wherever possible. Non-government and community based organisations, as well as other government departments, will be encouraged and where possible their capacity and resources enhanced to ensure effective partnerships in support of the FCB and the reduction of firearm violence in South Africa.

Since there has been extensive debate in the public hearings regarding the establishment and maintenance of Firearm Free Areas (FFAs), it is deemed an appropriate focus for this submission. It must be noted that the principles and guidelines that will underpin the establishment of such areas will require extensive consultation and development, some of which is as yet outstanding.

The context of the implementation of FFA’s must also be acknowledged; FFA’s are not seen as a cure all for gun violence. They cannot alone eradicate criminal violence perpetrated for instance by strangers intent on committing a planned crime. They are however seen as a major mechanism for avoiding violent crimes committed whilst under the influence of alcohol and/or resulting from domestic disputes or in the course of argument in for instance shebeens, homes, schools, churches and other public places.

In line with our commitment to information based interventions, we have undertaken research:

• to better understand the opportunities for the implementation of Firearm Free Zones, as well as the constraints and safeguards that should be put in place
• into the development of school-based campaigns to reduce violence.

Research into the implementation of Firearms Free Area’s (FFA’s) has included an audit that has assisted the development of key principles of FFA’s, development of guidelines for implementation of FFA’s as well as helping identify appropriate areas for implementation.

Preliminary indications are that it is relatively easy to establish an FFA but it is inevitably more difficult to maintain. There are existing examples that point to different ways to implement and maintain such zones. Existing voluntary Firearms Free Zones in Geluksdal and Mapela provide us with lessons and practices to be used in the development of guidelines for FFAs: these are being drawn in partnership with organisations such as Gun Free SA (GFSA), IDASA, businesses and casinos, sports clubs (Wanderers), etc.

A preliminary audit conducted by GFSA shows wide acceptance of firearm free areas, 461 (61%) of the 754 institutions surveyed indicating that their premises are firearm free. The business sector is the most likely to be gun free - 120 (71%) of 168 companies audited maintain firearm free premises. Businesses are most likely to enforce the gun free status of their premises by asking visitors to declare their firearms, by providing safes for the secure storage of guns, and/or undertaking body or electronic searches of people. For businesses, being gun free is a crime prevention measure, as they recognise that prohibiting firearms from their premises reduces the risk of criminal attack, a very real hazard because of their assets. 73 (61%) of the 119 NGO’s surveyed identified their premises as gun free.

Despite national government’s move towards stricter gun legislation, including provision for the declaration of firearm free areas, only 268 (57%) of the 467 government institutions contacted reported being gun free.

Less than half of state run health institutions, like hospitals and clinics, are gun free, despite the fact that these institutions deal with the effects of gun violence daily, having to treat gunshot victims. Having a gun free policy in place increases the chances of this policy being implemented, 122 (69%) of the 177 institutions that have a gun free policy stated that they enforced it.

Key principles of FFA’s for cost effective sustainability are: voluntary compliance, maintenance, assistance by the SAPS, community involvement. FFAs reflect the values and norms of the community and are responsive to high levels of firearm violence. Implementation is most appropriate in schools, health clinics and hospitals, bars and shebeens; these environments suffer high levels of violence and the violence is a particular barrier to the achievement of objectives.

SAPS’ roles and responsibilities in the establishment and sustaining of FFA’s include assistance and advice, at the outset, assistance and response where the FFA is violated, encouragement of community networks to eliminate all illegal firearms from the community and of Community Police Forums (CPFs) to play a constructive role.

Communication campaigns will target:

The police and other service providers, to ensure that they have commonly understood roles and responsibilities and shared objectives

• Other government departments, for whom gun violence is an obstacle to the achievement of departmental goals
• Community organisations and leaders
• Youth organisations and schools.

The objectives of the campaigns will be to focus on a rejection of gun violence within broader anti-crime messages;

• the need to build a new and sustained compliance with the law
• the need for communities to reject criminals and criminal behavior
• the need for non-violent solutions to conflict
• a vision of a safe and secure environment for all.

CONCLUDING REMARKS:

The SAPS regards the reduction and ultimate eradication of illegal firearms and firearms violence, as our first priority. This is because there is no other single contributor to violent crime that impacts more significantly on our environment.

Firearms change the nature of violent crime. Crimes committed with guns are more likely to cause serious injury and fatality. Gun crimes make headline news, striking fear into the hearts of local communities and international tourists and investors alike. We cannot afford to live with current levels of firearm related violence and we welcome the Firearms Control Bill as a vital mechanism to assist the SAPS in our efforts to police both legal and illegal firearms so as to achieve our objective of a safe and secure society.

The Department has noted with concern the references during these hearings to poor levels of service provision by the police, and to irresponsibility and incompetence amongst them. The Department assures the committee of the commitment of senior management team to a continuing service delivery improvement programme.

The FCB will be implemented in a stringently managed environment. There has also been concern that certain members of the SAPS are opposed to the provisions of the Bill and will therefore be reluctant to implement them. Internal education and awareness programmes will be used to reach every member of the SAPS, to ensure that there is consistent application and enforcement of the Bill.

As you have heard, dedicated budget over and above the normal budget to deal with this priority, has been allocated and will, again be managed within a disciplined and well supported infrastructure. Capacity requirements have been carefully evaluated and extensive training will be implemented to ensure that this additional capacity is maximised.

The restructuring of the Central Firearm Register is essential to the successful implementation of the Bill - but it must be said that it is not only the new Bill that has motivated the major work that has been undertaken on improving this facility, we would have had to do it anyway.

The FCB empowers the police in ways that are keenly needed; in terms of provisions of search and seizure, in terms of presumptions, in terms of clearly defined guidelines differentiating legal from illegal actions. I believe it will also be empowering in a broader, but equally important way: it will be a loud and unequivocal message to everyone in our society - and beyond - that we are serious about dealing with violent crime. There can be no more important message. It will contribute to a vital improvement in morale and help provide essential hope for the future.