Sunday Times 2
Constable Sumith’s case: Searchlight on beleaguered Police
There is media hype over action taken against Constable Sumith Kumarawansa who was attached to the Borella Police Station. These news items call to question several aspects in the administration of the Police Department.
While Constable Sumith is being accused of insubordination, disobedience to orders, neglect of duty and passing information to the media, he levels allegations of harassment and corruption against Senior police officers.
Constable Sumith who joined the Service in 1989 apparently held an unblemished record of 20 years till 2009. In 2009 he had a tangle with an influential/powerful person and a Senior DIG over an unauthorised car park in Kollupitiya. Constable Sumith’s contention had been that it was discreditable on the part of the Police to turn a blind eye to this private occupation of public space and he removed the unauthorised ‘private parking’ sign boards and permitted public car parking. This had led to an altercation with the owner of the establishment that had occupied the parking bay. A Senior DIG had thereupon allegedly ordered constable Sumith to allow the private parking. Constable Sumith’s protest resulted in his being transferred out. Authorising private vehicle parks in Colombo can be permitted only by order of the Municipal Commissioner, on levy of fees. Allowing unauthorised occupation of a private car park for considerations other than maintaining law and order and thereby also depriving the Municipality of revenue, if true, is clearly an unlawful order, and the position taken by the constable had led to a series of serious breakdowns in discipline. This incident had been followed with transfers, allegations of insubordination, disobedience to orders, neglect of duty and passing information to the media, against the constable and allegations of harassment, oppressive conduct, corruption and FR violations, made by the constable against his superior officers. Three aspects to be noted in this episode are:
1. Allegations against the constable had started since the ‘car park’ incident in 2009.
2. Charge sheets have been served against the constable in July 2014 over allegations of misdemeanor in 2010.
3. The constable has been interdicted with effect from 23.7.2014 for passing information to the media.
The allegations and counter-allegations are matters for inquiry and appropriate action. The matter of passing information to the media needs discussion in the context of what is happening today. The relevant provision in the Establishments Code Volume II that prohibits Police Officers (all public officers) from passing information to the media is: “An Officer not specially authorised in that behalf, other than those referred to in subsecion5:2 is forbidden to allow himself to be interviewed on or communicate, either directly or indirectly, any information which he may have gained in the course of his official duties to any person, inclusive of the Press, who is not officially entitled to receive such information.” -Chapter XLVII Section 5:5.
In this context I draw attention to TV and press publicity being given to rewards and special commendations by the Inspector General of Police to which he invites the media with cameras. Although the Inspector General of Police is authorised to supply information to the media, advertising for the world to see and for self glory, lacks dignity and decorum. That is why the Establishments Code rules against self glory. In the good old past, special commendations/rewards by the IGP for extraordinary good work by police officers were only published in the Police Gazette II which is a confidential publication only for the information of all ranks in the Police Department. By the imprudent action on the part of recent Inspectors General of Police (Millennium IGPees ), they have set a bad precedent that is being followed by the Police Spokesman and also those not authorised to supply information to the media. This is quite evident on TV and in the print media and is being permitted as long as it is considered by the authorities as not bringing the Department into disrepute. Therefore by practice, supplying information to the media has become permissive as long as it is considered by the authorities, not to bring discredit to the Department. The considerations by the authorities are often subject to questionable considerations, often political, self glory and to cover up the deteriorating Law and Order situation, all of which in fact bring the Police Department into disrepute. But what is the purpose behind the provision in the Establishments Code? The Establishments Code in its wisdom applies to any and all information. In the good old past, Defence Secretaries such as N.Q. Dias, G.V.P. Samarasinghe or A. Ratnavale, would not have tolerated such gimmickry on the part of the IGP. In the past, the truism that “there are no bad men, only bad leaders’, used to be inculcated in supervisory officers.
This is a case study only of one symptom of the malaise that has beset the Police Department which is beleaguered by an authoritarian and corrupt political administration.
(The writer is a Rtd. Senior Superintendent of Police and former Director/Grievance Handling Unit – Police Grievances)