Latest Statistics May 2002

Information up to and including 1998 from R. Chetty (ed.) (2000) Firearm Use and Distribution in South Africa. Pretoria: National Crime Prevention Centre.
Information after 1998 from Crime Information Analysis Centre, South African Police Services, 10 April 2002 and Central Firearms Register, 15 May 2002.
Mortuary data from Burrows, S. et al (2001) A Profile of Fatal Injuries in South Africa 2000: Second Annual Report of the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System. Violence and Injury Surveillance Consortium.

GUN RELATED DEATHS AND INJURIES

• While the number of people murdered in South Africa since 1994 has actually declined, the number of people killed by guns is increasing annually, from 41% of all murders in 1994 to 49.3% in 2000:

• 375 children under the age of 12 and 324 minors between 12 and 17 years of age were killed by guns in 2000 – an average 2 youngsters a day.

• The majority of firearm murder victims were killed with handguns (62%), followed by long guns (24%), which is contrary to the myth that AK47’s are the problem in South Africa.

A surveillance system set up at selected mortuaries in South Africa reveals the following:

• More people are shot and killed in South Africa than die in car accidents

• Infants and children younger than 5 years are most likely to burn to death. From 5 to 14 years pedestrian injuries ranked first. For all other age groups older than 14 years, firearms ranked first.

• Firearm homicides dominated for both males and females – 54% of males were killed using firearms, while 43% of female homicides involved guns.

• For both males and females, most homicides occurred in private homes, indicating that the victim and assailant were known to one another

• South Africa has one of the highest rates of police officers killed in the world. For the years 2000 and 2001, an average of 170 police officers were murdered per year in South Africa. In most cases police officials were shot while off duty. Of the 185 police murders in 2000, 125 (68%) police officers were off duty, of the 163 police murders in 2001, 96 (59%) officers were off duty. In the vast majority of cases, police officers are shot and killed, as shown in Table 4.

OTHER GUN CRIMES

• Most crimes involving firearms are on the increase:

• There has also been an increase in the number of firearms that are reported lost or stolen. From 1994 to 2001, a total of 184 328 firearms were reported lost or stolen – 13 506 were lost by their owners, while 170 822 were stolen from them. In 2001 a total of 23 519 firearms were lost or stolen, an average of 64 guns a day. These figures, particularly those for firearm losses are known to be an understatement, as many people do not report firearm thefts or losses for fear of prosecution.

• The South African Police Service has recovered a total of 84 905 firearms from 1994 to 1998, the bulk of which are pistols.

FIREARM LICENSING AND OWNERSHIP

• There are approximately 4.5 million registered firearms in South Africa, including almost 2.8 million handguns (pistols and revolvers). 3.7 million of these firearms are registered to 2.1 million private individuals. The remaining 1 million firearms are distributed between institutions, such as companies and security firms, firearm dealers and manufacturers and government departments.

• The Minister for Safety & Security estimated that there are between 500 000 and 1 million unlicensed firearms in South Africa (input made at the Reduction of Firearms Violence Communication Campaign in Cape Town on 3 February 2000).

• Firearm applications peaked around the 1994 election, with 236 033 licenses granted that year. The number of applications has since dropped – in 1999, 182 866 licences were issued to individuals, in 2000, 114 893 licences were issued and in 2001, 148 669 licences were issued.

A PROFILE OF FATAL INJURIES IN SOUTH AFRICA, 2000: FOCUSSING ON FIREARM INJURIES

Extracted from the Second Annual Report of the National Injury Surveillance System (October 2001), MRC, UNISA, CSIR.

METHODOLOGY
The second NIMSS annual report covers 1 January to 31 December 2000, during which time 18 876 fatal injuries were registered at 15 mortuaries in 5 provinces, which accounts for between 24 and 29% of all non-natural deaths.

The deaths were mainly recorded from urban mortuaries and city-wide coverage was limited to Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Pretoria. 

Because the registered cases were not adequately representative of rural areas, the data were not used to calculate national rates.

SEX, AGE AND RACE
Of the 18 876 non natural deaths, 80% were male and 20% female. Blacks constituted 70% of all cases, Coloureds 16%, Whites 12% and Asians 2%. The majority of victims were young adults, with 37% of all cases aged 15 to 29, and 36% aged 30 to 44. Four percent of victims were younger than 5 years, another 4% were aged 5 to 14 years, 14% were aged 45 to 59 years and 6% were 60 years and older.


MANNER OF DEATH
Homicide was the major cause of death, accounting for 45% (N = 8 395) of all cases. Accidents accounted for 35% (N = 6 503), followed by suicide (9% or 1 782 cases). For 12% (N = 2 196) the manner of death was undetermined. The leading manner of non-natural death for males was homicide (49%) and for females, accidents (44%).

EXTERNAL CAUSES OF NON-NATURAL DEATH
Firearms overshadowed all other external causes, and accounted for almost 28% of all cases. The total of 5 201 firearm deaths was greater than the 4 315 (23%) deaths due to all motor vehicle collision (MVC) categories combined – which includes passengers and drivers in MVCs, as well as pedestrian-vehicle accidents. 


External causes of non-natural death by sex of victim
For both sexes, gunshots were the major external cause of death, with the percentage of firearm deaths twice that for any other cause for males. In 1999 too, gunshots were the major external cause of death for both sexes.

External causes of non-natural death by age of victim
In infants and children younger than 5 years, burns were the major cause of death. From 5 to 14 years pedestrian injuries ranked first. For all other age groups older than 14 years, firearms ranked first.

HOMICIDE
Over half of the 8 395 homicides were inflicted by firearms, and almost a third by sharp instruments. 

Homicide: External causes by sex of victim
There were 6.8 males per female homicide victim, and males accounted for 87.1% of all homicides. Firearm homicides dominated for both males and females – of the males, 54% were killed using firearms, while firearms accounted for 43% of female homicides. Strangulation homicides were 13 times more frequent in females than in males. 

Homicide, external causes by age of victim
Firearm homicides dominated for all age groups. Sharp instruments were the second major cause for those aged 10 to 49 years, blunt objects for those aged 50 years and older.

The number of homicide victims rose abruptly in the 15 to 19 year age group, peaked in the 25 to 29 age group, and remained high until 44 years. 

Homicide, scene of injury by sex of victim
For both males and females, most homicides occurred in private homes, followed by homicides on the road. Females, however, had a higher percentage of injuries in and around the home compared to males.



Homicide: Seasonal, day and time trends
Firearm deaths peaked in May, while the summer months (December –February) showed lower percentages of firearm usage. However, when firearm use is low, sharp object are used in homicides more often.

For both males and females, most homicides take place on a Saturday, followed by a Sunday. 

Female and male homicides rose sharply from 20h00 and remained high until 23h00, peaking at 21h00. 23.9% of female homicides, and 25.2% of male homicides took place in this four hour period. 

Homicide and victim blood alcohol content
Blood alcohol content (BAC) levels were available for 4077 (48.6%) of homicide victims. Nearly 80% of sharp instrument victims had positive blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) in contrast to the 43% of firearm victims with positive BACs.

Homicide, implications for prevention
A staggering one-third of all known non-natural deaths were as a result of firearms and therefore stricter laws and regulations are needed to control the access to and use of firearms. Adequate enforcement is also required to ensure compliance. Education is also an integral strategy to create greater safety awareness and help control and prevent injuries with firearms.

FATAL ACCIDENTS
Accident deaths due to transport, burns, falls and drowning, and other external causes accounted for 6 503 or 35% of all fatal injuries. Of these, 72% were transport related, 12% were due to burns, 7% due to other external causes, 4% due to drowning and 4% due to falls.

SUICIDE
Firearms and hanging each accounted for one third of the 1 782 suicides. Most suicide victims were between 25 and 39 years of age. There were 4.5 males for every female suicide. The major external causes of suicide among males were hanging (42%) and firearms (37%), and among females were poisoning (32%) and firearms (25%). Most suicides occurred in private homes. Under half of all suicide victims had elevated BACs.