Become bilingual, PM tells Police

• Sri Lanka Police organisation structure and training mechanism to undergo change - PM
• Training mechanism to be revised to include midcareer training for all and new skills in handling cybercrimes - Sagala 

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told the top brass of the Police to improve their organisation’s structure, use of technology and bilingual skills to provide a more people-friendly service. 

Discussing moves to enable Sri Lanka Police to deliver a more “people-friendly” service, in a meeting held on Saturday at Temple Trees, the Premier said the training mechanism in the department needed to be restructured to ensure officers from lower ranks also periodically underwent training. 

Further, Wickremesinghe highlighted that the Police should recruit more bilingual candidates into its ranks and ensure that existing Sinhalese officers were able to converse in English. 

He highlighted that these three changes were essential in moving the institution towards its goals.  He also highlighted that devolution of power at a division level in the Police would assist in avoiding delays in carrying out official duties, adding that the institution should be well organised to deliver a quality service to the public. 

Wickremesinghe pointed out that with plans to establish helipads in all major cities in the country, the Police would also be able to carry out their duties with the use of helicopters.  

Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development, Sagala Ratnayake, informed those present at the meeting that the training structure of the police force would undergo a change as the current mechanism did not offer midcareer training for lower level police personnel apart from the basic training received at the academy. He added that steps had been taken to develop new training curricula with the assistance of countries such as Germany and the UK, adding that the Police should also be armed with modern equipment. 

Ratnayake also drew attention to the growing trend of cybercrime in the country. The Minister highlighted the need for the Sri Lankan Police to improve their knowledge and technology in tackling crime. 

He also said that the Police needed to take necessary action to partner universities and research institutions to work on the issue.  

Excise fines to go up 

Instructions have been given to increase the fines for excise-related offences upon requests made by senior officers of the Police who met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. 

During the meeting, which took place last Saturday with the participation of Law and Order and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayake, Senior Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs) present highlighted the difficulties in mitigating excise-related offences as the fines were too low. They complained that once released from custody the offenders returned to the illegal trade after paying the fine, making it difficult for the Police to tackle the issue. 

Upon their request, Ratnayake instructed Law and Order Ministry Secretary Jagath Wijeweera to seek advice from the Attorney General and revise the fine structure on all excise-related offences. 

Further, the Secretary was also asked to identify and nominate through a gazette, two suitable sites for protests in order to minimise traffic congestion on Colombo roads and difficulties caused to the public by demonstrations in Colombo. The instructions were given by the Minister after Senior DIGs pointed out the difficulties they faced in dealing with such situations during protest marches.