Continuous changes to our law enforcement structures are among the biggest challenges we face as a nation. Tomorrow the annual crime statistics will be released. Since her appointment as chief of police, General Riah Phiyega has limped from one disaster to another - and we expect another.Minister of Police Nathi Nhleko, will release the statistics in parliament, a move seen as a snub to the general, who is facing her own demons related to the findings of the Marikana commission.South Africa faces an uphill battle in containing crime.With the police hogging the headlines for all the wrong reasons, and some officers facing criminal prosecution, the general public has every reason to be concerned about its safety.It will be a surprise if the statistics show a decline in contact crimes. It would be even more shocking if the statistics showed a general decline in crime in this country.There were 16259 murders in 2012-2013; 17068 in 2013-2014.The average number of murders committed each day increased from 45 in 2012-2013 to 47 in 2013-2014.These statistics apply to a time that Phiyega and her team presided over.In the past two years there have been changes to the Hawks' top management, and senior police have been shafted on the grounds of various allegations.The head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, Robert McBride, is out in the cold, fighting for his job.It is the duty of the police and other law enforcement agencies to get the rotten apples out of the system but, at this rate, we will end up with a hollow shell of a police service.As the police minister prepares to brief his colleagues in parliament, he should reflect on the morale of our police officers, who risk everything, including their lives, to do their jobs but are saddled with a questionable leadership...