News
Killings on the rise, but police say crime down
Murders are mounting but the Police Department insists that the crime rate is down according to their statistics. Just this week, two persons were shot and hacked to death in Uragasmanhandiya near Elpitiya. It was followed by the shooting of a woman in Ja-ela when she was driving. Her eight-year-old daughter escaped miraculously. There was a gun battle between a gang leader and Police in Athurugiriya.
Police round up a house and recover weapons following a double killing in Aluthgama. Pic by Sarath Siriwardene
Law and Order Minister, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, flanked by a group of DIGs held a news conference on Thursday to exhort how well the Police were doing fighting crime. During the first eight months of 2018, 320 murders have occurred islandwide, a senior police official revealed to the Sunday Times. Subsequently, 285 suspects have been arrested in relation to the said 320 murders.
However, a senior retired Police officer, former Senior DIG H.M.G.B Kotakadeniya explained the reasons behind the claim. “People don’t believe there is law and order in the country and all is well. Senior officers do not allow Officers in Charge of the Police Stations to report crime without their approval” he said. Mr. Kotakadeniya was formerly Senior DIG Crimes.
There are many reasons for this sad state of affairs, he said. Political interference was one. There were also senior officers who colluded with criminals. That has contributed heavily to the deterioration of law and order, he added. The veteran police officer claimed that the Police is misleading the Government and public by not accurately reporting facts. Further, much of the minor crimes goes unreported to the police as the public has little faith in the system and do not want to go through the hassle.
Mr. Kotakadeniya said he had voiced concern regarding linkages between senior police officers and criminal elements in the mid 1990’s. Today, the situation is a manifestation of such issues he added. The current situation with allegations of corruption and collusion between police high ups and criminals is the culmination of the degeneration in the department which began with political interference in the early 1990s he opined.
A serious concern at present is the rise in violence unleashed by underworld gangs, at least some of which seem to be operating with powerful political backing. Gang violence is fuelled by the drug trade and the circulation of illegal firearms within these groups, said Prof. M.W. Jayasundara of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice of the Sri Jayewardenpura University. “A murder committed through sudden, uncontrollable rage is vastly different to something that’s premeditated and well-planned. The murders connected to the underworld fall to the latter category,” Prof. Jayasundara stressed, adding that society is far more sensitive to such organized crime. Therefore, there is much pressure on the Government to curb such crimes. A Police source told the Sunday Times that in the first 8 months of this year, 38 murders using firearms have occurred and that in 33 of the cases suspects have been arrested and arms recovered. 622 firearms have also been taken in to custody during the same period.
While there is some justification to the claims made by Police that the number of certain grave crimes have decreased, the level of brazenness associated with violent crimes, which are then widely reported across all media, amplify their shock value, Prof. Jayasundara opined. “People are being gunned down in broad daylight,” he observed, pointing out that the shooting of a 40-year- old woman at Weligampitiya in Kandana as the latest in a string of similar incidents in recent times.
With the intense media exposure surrounding these heinous crimes, it makes one incident equivalent to 50 or a 100 such crimes in the minds of the public, he argued. In effect, the general perception is that there are far more killings now than there ever were after the end of the war. The Government in turn, must find a way “within the rule of law” to curb the underworld, he remarked.
Minister for Law and Order, Ranjith Madduma Bandara on Thursday, told the media that the crime rate in the country was ‘statistically’ low. His comments come days after President Matripala Sirisena had raised concerns that the crime rate in the Island is trending upwards at a Cabinet meeting. Recently, the concerns regarding gang activity by the ‘Ava’ gang in Jaffna, saw a Senior Army Officer claim that the Army can get the situation ‘under control’ in two days.
Addressing the news conference which focused on the crime and security situation in Jaffna, Minister Madduma Bandara emphasized that the ‘Police was in control’ and the deployment of armed forces for law enforcement duties in the North and Eastern provinces was not necessary. He further claimed that ‘unfair’ media publicity was directed at the Police. The Police is in control of the law and order situation in Jaffna claimed Senior DIG Roshan Fernando (Northern Range) “Today the situation in the north, especially regarding the activities of the ‘Ava’ gang is being blown out of proportion” he noted. “Some politicians try to portray the ‘Ava’ gang as an reemergence of the LTTE” however, their activities have not caused murder up-to date he added. SDIG Fernando claimed that ‘Ava’ was not a major security concern, pointing out that the group has splintered and there was friction between the groups. “There are youth in the north who are idling, lack of employment opportunities are a contributing factor too. Further, these youth get funds from their relatives abroad, they are influenced by violence they see in the south Indian cinema and try to behave like that”he pointed out. The Commandant of the Special Task Force (STF) Senior DIG Latheef added that the activities of the ‘Ava’ group up-to-date are normal crimes and not ‘terrorism’.
Law and Order Minister, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, flanked by a group of DIGs held a news conference on Thursday to exhort how well the Police were fighting crime. Pic by Amila Gamage
The Sunday Times learns that the Police is to put in place a number of measures to tackle organised crime related violence. In the Western province alone there are 11,000 warrants which are yet to be executed, a police source said. A plan has been put in place for 112 police stations in the province to serve one warrant per day in an effort to clear up the backlog of suspects who are at large. Head of the Police Narcotics Bureau, DIG Sajeewa Medawatta told the press that 25 special rapid response teams are to be deployed with the help of the STF to combat drug and related organized criminal activity. Further, a dedicated 24hr hot line for drug related tip-offs is being trialed DIG Medawatta noted. Police will step up night patrolling of high risk areas with the community policing teams and plan to request stricter bail conditions for suspects involved in violent crimes a Police source informed.
On Friday (05th) evening, a 33-year-old resident of Kalapaluwawa, Rajagiriya was shot dead by two assailants on a bike. Earlier that morning, a 29-year-old individual was stabbed to death Samithpura in Mattakkuliya. Each day brings another violent death. Is this the new norm?