Police have admitted to Members of Parliament that they’ve distributed firearms among members that were not properly marked or tested for ballistics. This came out during a meeting where the police top brass briefed MPs on their annual performance.
Police admitted that firearms are issued from the buffer stock by checking them in and out after every use, but this is done without testing or marking the firearms.
Freedom Front Plus leader, Pieter Groenewald, cautioned against this.
“It’s an obligation to be dot-pinned as well as ballistics, but now police admit that it has not been done. If that firearm gets lost or stolen there is no way to track it. It makes it very lucrative for criminals then,” says Groenewald.
National Police Commissioner, Khehla Sitole, has agreed to a suggestion by Groenewald that issuing firearms that have not been clearly marked, will be put on hold until an inhouse system is put in place.
“We agree chair that an instruction will be issued. No firearms will be issued without dot pin, without taking over full control of the system.”
