Western Cape DPP calls for unified action as gun seizures rise by 28%

Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicolette Bell, says that conviction rates are currently not keeping pace with the high number of firearms being removed from the streets.

Recent data from Western Cape police highlights a 28.8% increase in firearm seizures during the second quarter, with over 32,000 rounds of ammunition confiscated during that period.

To bridge this gap, Bell is engaging with multiple stakeholders to provide specialised training on the handling and prosecution of firearm-related cases.

"I must say we've had engagements with prosecutors on a daily basis, with law enforcement, and with detectives as well," says Bell. "We're training everybody again on how to deal with firearms so that we could track the convictions on it."

The Advocate also emphasised that law enforcement and the judiciary cannot tackle the crisis in isolation. She is calling on all levels of society to play an active role in the fight against crime to ensure long-term safety.

"We all must work together to combat, to work against the scourge of crime in the Western Cape so that our communities feel safer," Bell says. "On a daily basis [we] put sentenced criminals [away], so assistance from everybody in the community is needed."