The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said yesterday that the proposed Firearms Control Act would put added pressure on the already overworked police service.

"...(T)he introduction of the proposed Firearms Control Act has some significant shortcomings in that it will only add to the desperate plight of an already overworked (police) force in implementing the provisions," Popcru president Zizamele Cebekhulu said in a statement.

He said while one of the provisions of the Act was that all firearm owners would have to prove that they were mentally capable to own and handle a gun, no psychological support or counseling existed to assess the state of mental health of the thousands of policemen, soldiers and criminal justice personnel who use firearms in the course of their duties.

"They continue to work for paltry salaries under extreme pressure, being exposed to on-going life-threatening situations.

"The incidences of suicides and accidental killings as a result of severe stress and depression is of constant concern to us as a union," he said. – Sapa.