The use of less-lethal weapons in South Africa

This fact sheet from the Institute for Security Studies examines the use and risks of less-lethal weapons (LLWs) by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), highlighting gaps in regulation and accountability.

• Less-lethal weapons (LLWs) are intended as alternatives to live ammunition to avoid killing or serious injury, but they still pose significant risks of death and permanent harm. Specific risks include permanent blinding from rubber bullets, death from tear gas in confined spaces, and hearing damage from stun grenades and long-range acoustic devices. Certain populations, including infants, young children, elderly people, and those with asthma, are identified as being at higher risk.
• There is a high risk of LLW abuse due to a tendency to overlook their use because they are less harmful than live ammunition. In South African prisons, electric shock shields have been recorded as being used for torture. In crowd management, police may use rubber bullets indiscriminately, firing into crowds without targeting specific individuals or having legal justification.
• The regulatory and legislative frameworks for the use of force in South African prisons and crowd management are insufficient, as they do not address the indiscriminate use of force or targeted weapon use. The SAPS lacks detailed regulations for LLWs and does not seriously control their use, while the DCS has a more extensive framework that still fails to address indiscriminate weapons.
• Data on the impact of LLWs is incomplete. Between April 2014 and March 2019, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) recorded 48 deaths resulting from police action in crowd management, but did not specify which weapons were used. In prisons, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) reported 3,221 'use of force' incidents between April 2013 and March 2019, averaging 534 per year.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). The use of less-lethal weapons in South Africa. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/LLW-factsheet-1.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. The use of less-lethal weapons in South Africa. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/LLW-factsheet-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=The use of less-lethal weapons in South Africa |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/LLW-factsheet-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesnduse, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{The use of less-lethal weapons in South Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/LLW-factsheet-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }