Gaps in enforcing the rule of law has contributed to the public being weary of the Police and the State. Sri Lanka has had a systematic failure to enforce the laws which govern the land for decades. As such, lawlessness, crime and corruption reigned, and remains a constant issue.

One of the key issues which has been a part of the problem is the lack of integrity and professionalism in the law enforcement agencies. Today, many have little or no respect for the Police. Another reason the trust has eroded is that the law enforcement authorities are  lethargic or fail to take public concerns seriously enough to act on them. The Police Department is widely believed to be ineffective, and many consider it a haven for crooks, politicised cops, that often use the law as they please. As unpalatable as it may be, that is the widely held public perception.

This week, the Police hierarchy suspended a Chief Inspector and transferred two other officers in relation to the recent incident of the abduction of an 18-year-old schoolgirl in the Hapugahayata Thenna area of Davulagala, Kandy. According to reports, the decision follows allegations of dereliction of duty of the officers in question. The suspended Chief Inspector of Police had been serving as the Acting Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Daulagala Police Station at the time of the incident. Additionally, a Woman Chief Inspector of Police and a Sub-Inspector (SI) serving at the same station have been transferred to other Police stations.  It is reported that the disciplinary measures were ordered by Senior DIG Lalith Pathinayake, who is in charge of the Central Province. These actions come in the wake of an internal investigation into the incident, where a Police officer attached to Gampola Police, who was passing by the scene during the abduction, had informed the Daulagala Police Operations Room regarding the incident. However, Daulagala Police had allegedly failed to respond to the alert. One can only imagine the inaction on public complaints, if the police operations room chooses or forgets to act on a report of an abduction from a serving Policeman.

The phenomenon is not an isolated one, during the course of last year (2024), the National Police Commission (NPC) has received a total of 2,860 public complaints through its main channels of receiving complaints, with the majority related to Police officers' inaction. Other allegations include abuse of power, bias in investigations, the fabrication of charges, and bribery and corruption. The Daily Morning has learnt that out of the complaints received by them for the year 2023, nearly 30% were related to police inaction. Following closely were allegations of abuse of power which nearly amounted to 23% to total complaints, while bias during investigations and fabrication of charges added up to approximately 23.7%. Approximately 4.5% were related to bribery and corruption by police personnel, while 0.8% were about alleged torture and 0.38% were on allegations about harassment of women.

The incumbent Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala and the Deputy Minister of Public Security Sunil Watagala, have pledged to initiate necessary disciplinary and legal action against Police officers who are engaged in various misconducts, if proven. However, given the scale of the reported inaction, if the concerns raised are valid, the issue may need a department-wide change in culture to address.  While it is important to have political will to act on errant Policemen, having a system in place which prevents such behaviour is more productive in the long run.

In many countries, governments perform integrity checks and performance index on key State officials, prime amongst them are law enforcement officials. Integrity tests are often simulated events that place a Police officer unwittingly in a monitored situation with an opportunity for unethical decision-making. Meanwhile, there are administrative systems, even some software and platforms, which check key performance indexes (KPI) about police performance, and respond to public feedback on action. It would be prudent for Sri Lanka to explore such an option. Many countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Canada and Australia use integrity and KPI-related tests, as they are useful means to prevent and detect police corruption, and improve their service delivery.