SAPS uncertain about members’ firearm competency but confident in new crime-fighting tech

The South African Police Service (SAPS) on Wednesday was unable to tell parliament’s portfolio committee on police exactly how many of its officers were not competent to carry firearms, but said it was confident that new technology would improve the crime-fighting landscape in the country.

The police service is developing a new Firearm Control Management System to replace its issue-laden Enhanced Firearm Registry System.

One of the key features of the new system is the ability for individuals to apply and pay for firearm licences online, as well as for licensed firearm dealers to submit their returns electronically. Users will also have a profile where they can monitor the progress of their applications.

The current and new system will run concurrently until full migration has taken place.

The new Firearm Control Management System is planned to be fully operational by the end of March 2026, and was one of the many updates police presented to the committee on Wednesday, along with how technology was and could enhance policing.

But when asked by Democratic Alliance committee member Dianne Kohler Barnard — twice — how many officers did not have firearm competency certificates or had failed their firearm tests, none of the senior police representatives present was able to answer. A response would be “submitted in writing” once it was pulled from “the system”, they said.

In 2015, Kohler Barnard caused a stir when she said that as many as 40 000 police members did not have competency certificates, or had failed their competency tests.

Lieutenant General Edith Nonkululeko Mavundla, the SAPS divisional commissioner for technology management services, made the presentation on the new technologies to the committee, but made no mention of budgets or specific costs for plans that included advanced crime-fighting tech such as body and dashboard cameras, and artificial intelligence-driven systems.

Mavundla did, however, say that although the police service’s current information and communication technology was “adequate and maintained” it would require “progressive expansion and upgrade to accommodate technology evolution and its inevitable demands”.

“We are upgrading our technology infrastructure, and yes, we are behind with the upgrades because of the austerities of funding, but at the moment we are able to run on that particular infrastructure,” she said.

She said that SAPS was working on a trial programme involving 41 body-worn cameras, and the police were evaluating various bodycam solutions from suppliers.

This was being done as a “proof of concept” to help SAPS determine the specifications and requirements for a broader body-worn camera deployment across the police service.

She said remotely piloted aircraft were being used for aerial surveillance during large events and in rescue operations. Drones helped reduce the risks to officers by allowing them to cover dangerous or inaccessible areas, she said, but also acknowledged that there were difficulties in retaining skilled personnel such as drone pilots.

Economic Freedom Fighters committee member Molebogeng Letlape asked what provision had been made for the use of improved technology in rural areas, given that many police stations there frequently had problems with phones and signals, and had limited access to or no vehicles.

Mavundla said rural areas were “not enabled with the infrastructure that is relevant to be able to run the new technologies”.

“In the rural areas, you may not be able to even find any telecommunication entity that is in that particular area, because that area doesn’t bring business to the telecommunication suppliers,” she said.

Rural areas still needed to be policed, Mavundla said, but with “relevant technologies” such as analogue, which was “still being maintained … and upgraded in rural areas”.

Kohler Barnard raised concerns about historical problems with the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), and the lack of fingerprint capacity at myriad police stations.

Mavundla said AFIS was used to verify individual identities, check for prior convictions and determine the wanted status of people in real-time during operations, but did not say whether the problems experienced with AFIS had been fully resolved.

ActionSA committee member Dareleen James asked whether any police station in the country where the current technologies and systems spoken of by Mavundla were fully operational. 

When Mavundla answered, James accused her of obfuscation. After this, Mavundla said “Johannesburg Central”.  

As for facial recognition technology, Mavundla said agreements between the police service and the private sector, including private security companies with vast camera networks already in place, would ensure police could use technology that was “already out there”, to avoid duplication.

The goal was to leverage existing infrastructure and databases to enhance the police’s ability to identify and track individuals of interest, particularly at border areas such as airports.