Change is possible within Police, says NPC head
The Utopian dream of turning the Sri Lanka Police into a truly independent body, and one which is not answerable even to politicians is possible, and is the collective responsibility of the public, says the chairman of the National Police Commission (NPC). “The Police have never been independent, especially over the last three decades, but there is a real possibility for transformation and it is our responsibility. It must be a collective endeavour,” Prof. Siri Hettige told representatives of the private sector on Wednesday. The NPC which was re-established last October under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution met the private sector so as to get them involved in an ongoing process to refurbish the image and workings of the Police which earlier this month celebrated its 150th anniversary.
Although there is a widely held perception this task is tantamount to that of cleaning the Augean Stables, Prof. Hettige, an Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the Colombo University, was hopeful that change can take place. “You won’t see a 100 per cent shift within a year and change won’t happen overnight. One has to be realistic but I believe change is possible. I think things are already changing, for instance Police officers cannot be transferred at will today. All transfer proposals have to come to us (NPC) now,” revealed Prof. Hettige. The NPC is presently meeting various stakeholders in the community in a bid to draw up a National Plan of Action to facilitate Police so that they can uphold the Rule of Law, maintain public order and security.
“Creating a safe, secure and peaceful environment in the country is a key responsibility of a modern state. Our experience over the last several decades has shown a large majority of the people have not been able to live in such an environment,” he pointed out. “Law enforcement is important but the problems are closely interconnected with diverse sectors such as education, roads, employment, transport, social welfare, housing, local government and health. We need to adopt a collaborative approach to deal with policy development for intervention at institutional levels,” he added. The NPC will hold a series of discussions on 18 areas with stakeholders before drawing up a blueprint for the Action Plan.
Among the steps already decided is for the public to grade Police stations whereby “people will be able to audit” resulting in officers serving in “good” stations being rewarded while those in bad will face punitive action. There are 448 police stations island-wide. In other steps, the public can lodge complaints against the Police with the NPC and no police officer can be penalised by a VIP or a superior officer for discharging their duties. Prof. Hettige is drawing on his personal experiences as he steers the NPC. “I lived for some time in the US when I was on a Fulbright scholarship. I was in Philadelphia and I needed an escort to go home in the evenings for fears over security.
I have also lived in Zurich where primary school children can walk to school alone, so safe is that environment. We cannot create a Switzerland here in Sri Lanka but at the same time we do not want a Philadelphia too,” he added. The other members of the NPC are B.A. Jeyanathan (former DIG), Thilak Kollure, (former Secretary, Sri Lanka Administrative Service), P.H. Manathunga (attorney-at-law), Frank de Silva (former IGP), Savithri Wijesekare (attorney-at-law) and Y.L.M. Zawahir (former ambassador, Sri Lanka Foreign Service).