A Critical Analysis of Firearm Control in
Post-Apartheid South Africa
Sheila Coxford, UCT

CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS VI
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. VII
ABSTRACT VIII
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1. THE GUN CONTROL DEBATE 3
2. DEFINITIONS AND PARAMETERS 6
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 7
1. SOUTH AFRICAN LITRATURE 7
2. INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE 11
3. CONCLUDING COMMENTS 14
CHAPTER 3 A PROFILE OF VIOLENT CRIME IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA. 15
1. STATISTICAL SOURCES: ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS 15
1.1 Police Statistics 15
1.2 Victim Surveys 17
1.3 Self-Report Surveys. 18
2. THE INCIDENCE OF VIOLENT CRIME. 19
2.1 Murder and Attempted Murder 20
2.2 Rape 27
2.3 Aggravated Robbery 29
3. CONCLUDING COMMENTS 32
CHAPTER 4 THE POLICY RESPONSE 33
1. THE NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION STRATEGY 33
2. LEGISLATION REGULATING FIREARMS IN SOUTH AFRICA 35
2.1 The Arms and Ammunition Act no. 75 of 1969 36
2.2 Firearms Control Bill B34-2000 38
3. CONCLUDING COMMENTS 41
CHAPTER 5 THE SUBSTITUTION EFFECT AND DIFFERENTIAL LETHALITY 42
1. THE SUBSTITUTION EFFECT. 43
1.1 Firearm Homicides in South Africa 45
2. DIFFERENTIAL LETHALITY 46
2.1 Firearm Robbery in South Africa 48
3. CONCLUDING COMMENT 50
CHAPTER 6 SOURCES OF ILLICIT FIREARMS 51
1. CIVILIAN OWNED FIIREARMS 55
2. STATE WEAPONS 56
3. WEAPONS SMUGGLING AND THE ILLEGAL ARMS TRADE 58
4. PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANIES 59
5. HOME-MADE FIREARMS 59
6. CONCLUDING COMMENTS 59
CHAPTER 7 DEFENSIVE GUN USE 61
1. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DEFENSIVE GUN USE 62
2. THE PREVALENCE OF DEFENSIVE GUN USE 65
3. THE DETERRENT EFFECT 67
4. CONCLUDING COMMENTS 70
CHAPTER 8 TESTING THE CORRELATION 71
1. EVIDENCE FROM THE SADC REGION 72
2. INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE FROM OUTSIDE THE SADC REGION 77
2.1 Comparative Evidence 77
2.2 Evidence from the USA. 80
3. CONCLUDING COMMENTS 82
CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSION 83
BIBLIOGRAPH 87
BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS 87
CHAPTERS IN BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS 88
JOURNAL AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES 89
PUBLIC DOCUMENTS 90
UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL 91
SUBMISSIONS ON THE FIREARMS CONTROL BILL 92

 

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE

PAGE
TABLE 1. SELECTED CRIME RATIOS PER 100 000 JANUARY TO DECEMBER 1994-1999 22
TABLE 2. SELECTED CRIME RATIOS PER 100 000 FOR THE PROVINCES JANUARY TO DECEMBER 1999 22
TABLE 3.. NUMBER OF MURDERS COMMITTED WITH FIREARMS 1994-1998. 26
TABLE 4.. NUMBER OF ATTEMPTED MURDERS COMMITTED WITH FIREARMS 1994-1998 26
TABLE 5. NUMBER OF FIREARM MURDERS BY PROVINCE IN 1998 26
TABLE 6. NUMBER OF SERIOUS ROBBERIES WITH A FIREARM 1994-1998 30
TABLE 7. NUMBER OF SERIOUS ROBBERIES WITH A FIREARM BY PROVINCE IN 1998 30
TABLE 8. MURDERS AND ATTEMPTED MURDERS BY WEAPON TYPE IN 1998 47
TABLE 9. FIREARMS LOST AND STOLEN 1996-1998 54
TABLE 10. ESTIMATES OF ILLEGAL FIREARMS IN CIRCULATION 54
TABLE 11. HOMICIDE RATES IN SIX SADC COUNTRIES 76
TABLE 12. WEIGHTED AVAILABILITY OF LEGAL PERSONAL PROTECTION FIREARMS AND HOMICIDE RATES FOR FIVE SADC COUNTRIES 77
TABLE 13. INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON OF HOMICIDE RATES PER 100 000 AND PERCENTAGE HOUSEHOLDS WITH GUNS 78

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My sincere thanks to the following: Professor Schrire for his comments, suggestions, constructive criticism and general supervision; the UCT Scholarships committee for their financial support over the last three years as well as Judy Coxford and Ingrid Hastings for their help with the editing, proof-reading and production of this dissertation.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

APLA Azanian Peoples' Liberation Army
CIAC Crime Information Analysis Centre
DGU Defensive Gun Use
GBH Grievous Bodily Harm
GFSA Gun Free South Africa
HSRC Human Sciences Research Council
ISS Institute for Security Studies
MK Umkhonto we Sizwe
NCPS National Crime Prevention Strategy
NFF National Firearms Forum
SADC Southern African Development Community
SADF South African Defence Force
SAPS South African Police Service
SWA South West Africa
TBVC Transkei Bophutswana Venda Ciskei
UCA United Christian Action

The style, formatting and system of referencing in this dissertation follows that set out in the sixth edition of Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). For referencing from the World Wide Web, Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor, The Columbia Guide to Online Style (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998) has been utilised.

ABSTRACT

This dissertation evaluates the hypothesis that the implementation of stringent firearm control in South Africa will significantly decrease levels of violent crime. First, the specific dynamics of violent crime in this country are examined, in order to establish whether firearm control constitutes a fitting response to the problem. Second, some of the important theoretical underpinnings of the firearms control debate are considered. Drawing heavily on police reports and victim surveys, it is determined that those crimes routinely perpetrated with a firearm are murder, attempted murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. The defining features of these crime types are established with a focus on the victim-perpetrator relationship and the degree of premeditation and serious intent. Having ascertained the nature of the problem, an examination of the proposed solution ensues.

Relevant aspects of The National Crime Prevention Strategy are outlined, followed by a look at the perceived short-comings of the current Arms and Ammunition Act no. 75 of 1969. Pertinent clauses of the Firearms Control Bill B34 - 2000 (Revised Version) are examined and distinctions drawn between current legislation and the proposed Bill.

The discussion turns to the potential impact of effective firearm control on violent crime. For the three crime types under consideration, it is likely that many criminals would substitute another weapon in the place of a firearm. This could decrease the rate of homicide as assaults with a firearm are generally more lethal than knife attacks. However, given the specific role that firearms play in armed robberies, it is possible that the incidence of murder and attempted murder related to armed robbery might increase, as well as the incidence of armed robbery itself. Thus, effective firearm control may simultaneously increase and decrease incidents of violent crime.

The second part of the dissertation relies on international and indigenous research to evaluate three of the pivotal issues in the gun control debate. The first is that licensed civilian firearms [...? Ed]

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