The City’s metro police firearm confiscation statistics in recent months show a worrisome increase in imitation firearms being used in crimes.

According to the metro police department, they confiscated 25 firearms, 28 imitation firearms and 336 rounds of ammunition between July and November.

Metro police Chief Wayne le Roux said imitation firearms could be toy guns or the more realistic-looking guns that fired plastic bullets.

“The firearm confiscations are crucial to solving other crimes, as weapons are sent for ballistic testing that could link weapons and the arrested suspects to other incidents.

“So, the impact is quite far-reaching,” he said.

In terms of the Firearms Control Act, an imitation firearm means anything that has the appearance of a firearm, but is not capable of operating as such and cannot by superficial examination be identified as an imitation.

The law prohibits the possession of imitation firearms.

Le Roux said it was not surprising they had seen a spike in the confiscation of real-looking guns.

“They are easier to get hold of, they can fool most people into believing it is the real thing and it is likely that criminals believe they will face a lesser charge in the event that they are caught.

“This is an unfortunate misconception as suspects are charged in terms of the legislation, even if an imitation firearm was used in the commission of a crime.”

Mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, said: “The successes stem from an increase in search and seizure operations in known crime hot spots. As we head into the busy festive season period, our metro police officers will increase their operations and deploy in areas based on crime threat analysis.

“We also encourage the public to continue passing on tips and information that could help bring criminals to book, as their assistance has proven to be invaluable.”