Appointing right person as new IGP crucial

With the current Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne slated to retire from service today, the top post in the Police Department falls vacant. The vacancy arises at a time the Police Department has been embroiled in numerous controversies and public faith in the Police is at an all-time low.

Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Deshabandu Tennakoon who is the front runner to take over the coveted post has been embroiled in numerous controversies including his failure to act to stop the violence unleashed on the GotaGoHome campaign protestors at Galle Face on 9 May. He is also a respondent in a Fundamental Rights case filed relating to the arrest and detention of Inter University Students’ Federation (IUFS) leader Wasantha Mudalaige. 

Another Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena who is also in the running to be IGP was found guilty of negligence of duty in relation to the Easter Sunday attacks by the Supreme Court in January and asked to pay compensation to the tune of Rs. 75 million to the families of the victims. There are three other Senior DIGs including the former police spokesman who is now SDIG – Southern Province Ajith Rohana who are among those who could be considered for the post.

The post of IGP falls vacant at a time when serious questions are being raised about the conduct of the men in the police force. The manner in which the 9 May situation was handled by the Police who failed to stop supporters of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa from attacking the Galle Face protesters and doing little to stop the subsequent violence unleashed against ruling party politicians and their supporters exposed the inability to handle volatile situations. It also exposed the failure of police intelligence services to provide the necessary information to those on the ground to take adequate prevention measures.

Of late, the Police are facing growing charges of using excessive force to deal with protestors thus trampling on the rights of people to peaceful association.

On top of these, the Sri Lanka Police is plagued with deep rooted issues which have gone unaddressed for years. These include custodial deaths which are not investigated in a transparent manner by the Department and often get hushed up with lame explanations that the suspects either killed themselves or were killed trying to escape police custody. There are also numerous times it has transpired in courts that the Police had framed suspects, tampered with evidence or introduced false evidence. Cases of torture of suspects taken into custody too continues despite a law, making torture an offence.  

Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe recently disclosed that most drug-related arrests made by the Police are false arrests and there have been instances where in place of the illicit drugs, powdered paracetamol tablets are produced in court to frame suspects. These are serious allegations coming from the Justice Minister himself and underscores the need for the Police Department to undertake radical changes to improve its image. This means better training, instilling discipline and de-politicising the Police Force which has now come to be seen by the public as a security arm of some political heavyweights.

But such an exercise can only be seriously undertaken if the Police Department is headed by a person who can withstand political interference, do his job in an impartial manner and command the respect of those in the Police Force as well as the public. Appointing any of the men already tainted due to their links to different politicians will do little to raise the standards in the Sri Lanka Police or enforce public faith in the service.