Cape Town – Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen relaunched the much-anticipated reward system to encourage the public to report the whereabouts of illegal firearms on Wednesday.
Allen was joined by the Western Cape Deputy Police Commissioner Major-General Manci on Monday at the Delft police Station, and as part of his first anniversary in office.
Western Cape Deputy Police Commissioner Major-General Mpumelelo Manci and Allen reactivated the initiative which was first launched by Premier Alan Winde in 2019 when he was the community safety minister in the Western Cape.
Allen said that the reward system seeks the public to report the location of illegal firearms by calling 021 466 0011 anonymously or, if they wish, can share their details with the SAPS officers fielding the calls.
"The details of the person reporting the firearms will under no circumstances be made public. Upon reporting the firearm, it will be collected by SAPS.
"Once it is confirmed as an illegal firearm, R1 500 will be awarded to the individual who reported it.
"When an arrest is made that is directly linked to the firearm, a further R1 500 will be paid to the person who reported it and should there be a conviction that is tied to the firearm, the balance of R2 000 will be paid to the person who made the report," Allen said.
Allen said he wants the public at large to use this opportunity to help them get illegal firearms off streets, and their hope is that this will serve as enough encouragement to make the province’s streets safer.
"During the first10 weeks of 2023, shootings accounted for 44% of homicides, which is the highest cause of murders in the province.
"During the third quarter, October to December 2022, of the 2022/23 financial year, firearms were also the instrument used to commit 47.8% of all murders, which was also the highest during the period," he said.
Allen added that part of the reason why they were launching this initiative in Delft was because it was currently third on the top 30 murder station list across the country, and second in the province behind Mfuleni.
"We have worked hard to ensure that processes are in place so that when a report comes in, all protocol is followed. These protocols will assist SAPS in taking illegal guns off our streets and out of the hands of criminals.
“To create greater awareness, we will now ensure that posters explaining the initiative are placed in every police station across the province. However, one of the best ways to reach our communities is by SAPS members sharing this news far and wide.
“We sincerely hope that this will lead to a large number of calls and reports about where these illegal firearms are. We all have a role to play and now through this programme every resident can be a part of the solution," Allen further said.
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