The FF Plus asked the Gauteng Police Commissioner, Lt Gen. Elias Mawela, to report on the theft and loss of evidence from the 13 storerooms at police stations in the province.
The party requested the report after various complaints about evidence being either sold or stolen, or simply disappearing from these storerooms.
Cases where the evidence disappears are rarely solved successfully, which means that suspected criminals get off scot-free.
The FF Plus is convinced that the audit process of the 13 storerooms is inadequate due to the poor work ethics of senior officers and station commanders.
When a firearm, which is a piece of evidence in a criminal case, disappears from a storeroom, chances are that firearm will be used to commit another crime.
The FF Plus will carefully examine the report and conduct its own investigation to determine the seriousness of the matter.
Proper control of evidence is important to successfully prosecute alleged criminals and to prevent firearms from ending up in the wrong hands.
;
