Sri Lanka Police -156th Anniversary – By C.L.Ratnayake(Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police)
Source : island
On 3rd September 2022 Sri Lanka Police celebrated its 156th anniversary. There were several articles published in the newspapers both in Sinhala and English. The Assistant Director of the Police Media Division made a very impressive presentation in an interview aired over Newsline. According to him Police Department boasts of approximately 96,000 personal both male and female of all ranks engaged in duties in more than 600 Police stations in 120 Police divisions scattered all over the island.
Police boasted of an exemplary service few decades ago, but at present what is the perception of the public on the performance of the Police? Do we, the members of the public, get the protection we deserve from the Police? Indisputably crime – especially organized crime; cybercrime and crime related to narcotics drugs with involvement of foreign criminal syndicates are on the increase. Due to the above factors the public have lost faith and confidence in the Police. We don’t see any systematic preventive methods such as patrolling performed by Police.
However, it is no secret that protection is provided to politicians of all categories elected by the people to serve the people with several police personal attached to them. In some cases, we observe static guards placed in the vicinity of residences of parties connected to politicians. Even when such VIPs travel about they are provided with Police escorts who very often break all traffic rules in the name of providing security and then inconveniencing the other road users. When one observes hordes of Police officers engaged in protecting the politicians neglecting the ordinary citizens, doubt arises in one’s mind as to whether the Police are neglecting to carry out one of their most important responsibilities of providing security to the public.
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The country is undergoing a severe turmoil and facing an unprecedented social disruption. This is beyond the control of the Police and outside the responsibility of the Police. Very often we see on mass media where Police officers have been involved in unethical activities and criminal offences. Unlike in the past the Police Department possess large number of senior officers. The public feels that they are enjoying the perks but do not bother about their duties which the public expect from them. Some such incidents could have been avoided by proper supervision and strictly following of the departmental guidelines.
During the tenure of Dr. T.P.F. De Silva as Inspector General from 1993 – 1995, Police introduced a system of policing called the “Thombu System” where a particular officer was responsible for each designated area. He was expected to know the details of the inhabitants of his area and of any illegal activities etc.
In 2006 an improved version of the above “Thombu System” a modern concept of Community Policing was introduced by the British Government (Scottish Police) and implemented by Asia Foundation with Technical Support. This program is no longer continued. There is no universally accepted definition of Community Policing. It can commonly be described as a policy that requires Police to address public safety concerns.
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According to a survey conducted by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) of more than 2000 law enforcement agencies that have been using community policing for at least for one year, 60 % stated that they had less crime committed against civilians, 80 % stated that they had reduced the fear of crime, and 99 % stated that they have received increased cooperation from civilians.It is no secret that the Police Department is highly politicized. Promotions and postings depend on political backing which ultimately culminate in the present lackadaisical performance of the Police.
I regret to state that the Police Commission is a “white elephant”. It had become a highly ineffective “rubber stamp” to approve political decisions.We, the members of the public, earnestly request the policy makers to guide the Police Department to address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues and fear of crime. Police should try to win the hearts of the public by having continuous community consultation.
C.L.Ratnayake
Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police
