Criminals appear to enjoy rights which often lead to injustice for victims, according to KwaZulu-Natal's (KZN's) police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

In an interview on Monday, he told News24 he had become increasingly concerned that the war on crime might not be won if certain changes were not made.

Mkhwanazi said that, what made matters worse, was that police were constantly subjected to criticism "by society at-large, despite clear challenges to effective policing".

He said:

Police are constantly blamed, but hardly anyone investigates where the gap lies in the crime-fighting value chain.

Mkhwanazi said the public was not aware of the challenges they faced in fighting crime.

"This keeps me awake at night. It's very painful," he said.

"If a police officer gets shot at by a criminal and retaliates by shooting back at the criminal, and the criminal dies, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate takes over the matter and police officers are then charged with murder. It's demoralising."

Mkhwanazi said he hoped society would recognise that the "punitive measures that have been put in place do not necessarily deter criminals".

He added: 

Criminals kill breadwinners... police conduct investigations, and the murderers are sent to jail. Inside prison, inmates enjoy three meals per day and study for free up to Master's level. Years later, they are released on parole, while the families of the victims continue to suffer. This is not justice.

He raised concerns about the high number of resignations in the police's Specialised Task Force (STF), saying he suspected there were internal issues contributing to the exodus of specialist law enforcement operatives.

The STF is an elite crime-fighting unit, which handles high-risk cases that fall outside of the scope of classic policing, according to the police.

In KwaZulu-Natal, it's reported that there are now only 15 out of the initial 53 task force members.

Mkhwanazi said he acknowledged that many leave the force for higher salaries in the private sector, but he believed the mass resignations were not only about money.

"I have escalated this matter to our national office for resolution because I believe that there are other factors at play other than salaries. Maybe there is something that we need to change internally," he said.

On Monday, Mkhwanazi handed over 239 vehicles to the province's 184 police stations and celebrated the addition of 1 700 new officers who recently graduated from training camps.

The addition of new officers will increase the number of the men in blue in KZN to 25 700 and serve the province's more than 11-million residents.

Mkhwanazi said the demand for police services remained high and, therefore, community members still needed to collaborate with the police in the fight against crime.  

KZN is home to some of the country's leading crime hotspots.

Last month, the police announced that KZN, together with Gauteng, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, accounted for 83% of murders reported between July and September this year.

The communities of Plessislaer, Inanda and Umlazi rank in the top three of the country's murderous policing areas.

Mkhwanazi repeated calls for communities to report criminals to the police as opposed to shielding them.