Amnesty International revealed the extent of police violence in Mozambique, saying that police are killing and torturing people with near total impunity. 'Police in Mozambique seem to think they have a licence to kill and the weak police accountability system allows for this', said Michelle Kagari, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme. 'In almost all cases of human rights violations by police - including unlawful killings - no investigation into the case and no disciplinary action against those responsible has been undertaken, nor has any police officer been prosecuted.' Mozambican police face numerous challenges stemming from high crime rates, a backlog of criminal cases in the judicial system, and occasional violence against police by criminal elements. These have led to pressure from the public for the police to deal with the crime decisively and forcefully. Police officers have responded to these challenges by using excessive force, including the unlawful killing of suspects. There have been many cases where excessive use of force by the police has resulted in death - and in some cases the killings appear to be unlawful.