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About 6,000 police personnel to be reinstated to overcome cadre shortage
To overcome problems caused by the shortage of police personnel, the Government is likely to waive off disciplinary action against police personnel who have committed minor offences and bring back as many as 6,000 to the service.
Minister Bandula Gunawardena told the Sunday Times the decision had been taken in view of the shortage of policemen for various duties, including traffic control. Those facing disciplinary action will be called before a committee appointed by the Inspector General of Police and the offence committed would be taken into consideration before granting a pardon and reinstating them.
In view of the suspension of the policemen, the Police Department has not been able to fill the vacancies. The Minister said the reason for acquiring the assistance of the Tri Forces Police was due to the lack of police officers to perform various tasks.
“This Cabinet decision was made considering the inconvenience caused to the people due to excessive road traffic congestion on a daily basis,” he said.
Refuting the allegation that the Government was trying to militarise the state, Minister Gunawardena said, “The military police has always been a source of strength and has come to the aid of the people during a crisis.” He said some NGOs had often looked down upon the good done by the government.
Police spokesman Jaliya Senaratne said the current police cadre was incapable of carrying out multiple duties at the same time. “With the heavy traffic that builds up during peak hours in Colombo and other responsibilities attached to them, assistance from the Tri Forces will be of huge help,” he said.
Military Spokesman Chandana Wickremasinghe pointed out that the Military Police was deployed only to assist police officers to control traffic and not to get involved in reporting offences of fining motorist. According to him, at every spot where a military police official is deployed there is also a police officer.
Air Force media spokesman Dushan Wijesinghe said assistance would only be rendered during peak hours when traffic built up extensively.