Police Minister Bheki Cele says more than 5,000 firearms have been stolen from police in the last five years.
He said they have been able to arrest a number of people found in possession of the stolen guns. But so far, 23 people have been found guilty and 42 are on trial.
However, 48 firearms stolen from SAPS have been used in committing crime.
Cele, who was replying to a written parliamentary question from EFF MP Vuyani Pambo, said during the 2018/19 financial year 1,205 guns were stolen from security services.
In the following financial year, 980 firearms were stolen.
In the 2020/21 period, 735 guns were stolen by criminals.
The number started to rise again when 971 firearms were stolen during the 2021/22 financial year.
Cele said the number shot up to 1,242 during the 2022/23 financial period.
Cele also said the Hawks continue to investigate cases of firearms being sold by members of the SAPS, which end up in the hands of criminals.
This came after two officers were convicted for selling 2,000 firearms to gangs on the Cape Flats a few years ago.
Former police officer Christiaan Prinsloo was sentenced to 18 years for selling firearms, some of which were later used in a number of murders, including the killing of children.
Prinsloo had admitted to selling 2,000 guns to gangs.
While he was sentenced in 2016 for his crimes, Prinsloo was released on parole in 2020.
Another former police officer, David Charles Naidoo was also convicted for his role in the illegal sale of guns.
Gun Free South Africa said in May that it was launching a class action against the police on behalf of the affected families for injuries and deaths due to the actions of Prinsloo and Naidoo.
Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald said more than 1,000 murders had been linked to the firearms sold by Prinsloo and Naidoo.
In his parliamentary question to Cele, Groenewald asked what measures police were taking to trace the stolen firearms, as hundreds of them had never been recovered.
Cele said the Hawks were working to recover every firearm stolen from the police.
“The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations registered Project Impi in 2015 with the sole purpose of seizing firearms that were stolen and sold by any member of the SAPS. All the firearms that were recovered were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for a ballistics test. These firearms were then transported to a storage facility for safekeeping, pending destruction,” said Cele.
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