"Milcops" ignored in promised State Reforms

• Two cops including SI arrested over drug trafficking links (Reported – 18 April, 2024)

• Three Police Officers attached to Galenbidunuwewa Police Station convicted for all charges by Hon. High Court Judge Mr.Sampath Wijerathne for soliciting a bribe of Rs.20,000/- and accepting of a bribe of Rs.10,000/- (from CIABOC website)

• A PNB officer accused over drug trafficking arrested (Ministry of Defence /08 July 2020)

• IP Wasantha Kumara also attached to the PNB, wanted for involving in the alleged drug racket surrendered to the Kadawatha Police (Ministry of Defence /08 July 2020)

• Aluthkade shooting: Two cops arrested over the murder (Reported – 23 Feb.2025)

• IGP Priyantha Weerasuriya has lodged a complaint with the NPC and the CID against a Senior DIG on allegations of providing false information about the IGP and other senior officers to social media and sharing confidential internal documents with external parties. (Reported – 29 October, 2025)

"It is necessary to reform and modernise the State sector for efficient and quality service delivery. We showed our commitment for such in our first budget itself. State sector employee salaries have been increased in 03 phases by now" (translated from Sinhala speech) said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to parliament on November 07 (2025) as the Minister of Finance, detailing his budget proposals for year 2026.

With more details on State sector salaries and pensions under budget proposal 33.1, he promised to establish a "Salaries and Pensions Commission" and explained, "It is our responsibility to manage the salaries and pensions policy in a sustainable manner. Considering salary anomalies occurred over the years and challenges in managing public finance, a Salaries and Pensions Commission will be established to provide solutions to problems related to salaries and pensions of public employees" (translated from Sinhala speech).

On two previous occasions, Minister of Public Security, Ananda Wijepala, spoke about a committee to design a separate salary framework for the police department. On 28 February 2025 he told parliament, "a separate salary structure for the Police Department will be established in next year’s (2026) budget". Speaking about salaries of police constables the Minister said, their monthly salary of Rs.29,540 would be increased to Rs.44,293 this year (2025) and in the budget for 2026 that would be further increased to Rs.46,921 with all related allowances also increased accordingly.

For the second time on 02 November, before the budget was presented in parliament, the Sunday Times quoted Minister Wijepala to the effect, police department will have their salaries increased by the 2026 Budget. In an article captioned "Coppers to get cash to buy boots and uniforms, no more problematic tenders" the Minister was quoted as saying, a committee has been appointed to design a separate salary framework for the police department, "similar to those of other armed forces" and had said, "…salary increases in the police department are implemented in line with general government salary revisions", implying police should not be treated as other public officers. For the perception now is the police are also part of "national security". A novel "Milcop" force, a hybrid of the military and the police.

While there was no mention by the President about salary increases for the Police nor about a committee on salaries for the police in his budget for 2026, what nevertheless remains problematic is the perception of Minister for Public Security assuming the police is an "armed force". This in fact is how most politicians and the public understand the "police force". Let me stress this first. Police Department is not an armed force and should not be. It is a "civil department".

Police department official website says, "In the year 1659 the Colombo Municipal Council adopted a resolution to appoint paid guards to protect the city by night.... Hence they could be considered as fore-runners of the police in the country." (https://www.police.lk/?page_id=211)

Police functions came to be clearly defined in 1805 when "safety, comfort and convenience of people" were added with prevention and detection of crime and maintenance of law and order.

Through many such changes and reforms, on the 1st of June 1947 Sir Richard Aluvihare, a career Civil Servant was appointed Inspector General of Police (IGP) before granting independence to Ceylon in February 1948. Police Department was listed with the Home Ministry, then under Minister Oliver Goonatilleke, who resigned in July 1948 and was replaced by Edwin Wijeyeratne as Minister.

Routine duties of the police then were guiding city traffic, arresting thieves, investigating robberies, raiding moonshine and illicit horse-betting centres apart from accepting complaints at the police station by citizens who had issues they wanted to be investigated. Police were called at times to control protests with a cane shield and a wooden baton. I have heard police used tear-gas against uncontrollable protesters and in very rare occasions, given orders to "shoot below the knee" when protests became aggressive and uncontrollable.

In those decades of 50's and 60's, although the Public Securities Ordinance No. 25 of 1947 was available to enforce emergency powers, it was used only to stall work stoppage in the public sector, declaring services like health, electricity, food supply as "essential services". In 1958, Public Securities Ordinance was used for the first time to deploy the military to curb anti-Tamil mob violence. Emergency regulations then remained only for about a month.

It has to be stressed too, reason for extremely low numbers in crimes in society during the first 30 years after independence was not merely police efficiency. The economic model and the ideology that nurtured that economy had much to do with ethics and morals the society lived with. Thus during the first 30 year period, crimes like rape of women, kidnapping and abductions, contract killing, mass scale drug peddling, were almost totally absent. Extremely rare news reports that shocked and numbed society all through those years were murders of Adeleine Vitharana, Ranjanie cab owner's wife, Ambalangoda Dr. Kularatne's wife, rape and murder of JVP activist Premawathie Manamperi by an army officer and the twin-murder of Russel Ingram and Eunice Pieris known as "Murders at the Vicarage".

What changed the civil face and work of the police was the JVP insurrection of April '71. Political illiteracy of the JVP leadership and total absence of "common sense" led to attacks on police stations in Sinhala South to capture political power in a "single night". With due endorsement from the Opposition, the JVP insurgency provided enough excuses for the Bandaranayake government to brutally crush the youth rebellion. And it also gave the Bandaranayake government the right to use "Emergency Regulations" in deploying the military.

The '71 April insurrection had many "firsts". It was the first time the "ceremonial outfit" the military was perceived to be till then, was used for "counter terrorism". It was the first time the police was provided powers under "emergency regulations" to arrest, detain and hold a "suspect" in custody. It was also the first time, the parliament allowed continuous extensions of emergency powers for years. Most frightening of all "firsts" was the decision the government took in strengthening the police and the army with new and more weapons and "training on counter-terrorism", that labels its own citizens as "enemies" of the State.

The JVP insurgency also left a long 09 year period of emergency rule from 1971 to late 1980. This 09 year emergency was what changed the working psyche of the police in maintaining law and order. It gave them undue powers far beyond that of policing a civil society. A legal right to arrest and detain anyone purely on "suspicion" and the provision for long periods of detention made the police a powerful factor in social life. The right to exercise such powers creates a mindset different to that of maintaining "law and order" in a civil society, under ordinary civil law. Another deformation was that of police officers used to working with emergency regulations, becoming mentors of junior police personnel recruited and trained under them. They were deployed on duty with emergency regulations.

When in 1979, President Jayawardene enforced the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Temporary) it provided all powers they were used to under emergency regulations and more. Three years later in 1982 it was made permanent and the initial explanation it was specifically to meet the threat of Tamil "terrorism" in North-East, came to be ignored. Yet the longest period in Sri Lankan history under emergency rule was also with the PTA in force from 1983 to August 2011, two years after the war was declared over. All these decades, police department was moved around and was under the Ministry of Defence, and then under the newly created Ministry of Internal Affairs. Whatever the ministry, the police came to be treated as an auxiliary force of the military.

Whatever the ministry the police department is left under, we are now with a police department that does not know what ordinary civil law is, and is mentally attuned to work and behave as a militarised police force. They become more troublesome and problematic when they become part of a heavily corrupt and politicised State.

 

To bring this to a close, let me say, we have now come to a stage where State Reforms are far heavier a priority than the economy and that restructuring and redefining the responsibilities of the police department as a civil department is right at the top of State reforms.

Kusal Perera

2025 November 17