In recent weeks some senior politicians from the government of Sri Lanka have tried to blame the increase in crime on the National Police Commission (NPC). In fact no link between the NPC and the increase in crime has in any way been established. On the contrary, there is widespread consensus that the decreased violence during the last general election was largely due to the firm stance taken by the NPC to stop politicians from manipulating the police for their own ends. The real motive behind these spurious attacks on the NPC has been to disrupt the commissions work and perhaps thereby enable a return to violence and manipulation during forthcoming elections.
The 17th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka is intended to depoliticise the countrys main institutions so as to enable them to perform their functions as originally intended. In the last few decades, these institutions have been unscrupulously manipulated for the benefit of a few powerful individuals, to the detriment of the common good. The dismantling of these key democratic institutions has caused instability and confusion among the public. The popular sense of insecurity that now exists has parallels only in countries where the rule of law has collapsed. In this situation, the people need to hear of measures to restore strength to these institutions that can protect the citizens through the reassurances that can be provided only by the rule of law, not further cries of anarchy.
Unfortunately, the 17th Amendment has as yet remained unimplemented. Had strong steps been taken to activate all the commissions envisaged by the amendment, the country would by now have moved towards greater stability. However, this would have countered the political ambitions of individuals and groups who put their interests before those of the wider public.
The NPC is among the institutions established under the provisions of the 17th Amendment. Though the Commission has a long way to go to fulfil its constitutional mandate, it has the possibility to establish sane and reasonable management of the police force, an institution commonly acknowledged to have suffered great damage due to political manipulation during the last decades. If the NPC is able to fulfil its constitutional mandate, it will mean that officers of the police can feel secure in their responsibilities, and the public may hope for a better service from the institution.
Neither the NPC nor even the police force itself is primarily responsible for controlling the increase in crime. This is a job for the political leadership of the country. It is the political leadership that must place before the people a comprehensive policy to this end. To date, no such effort has been undertaken; all that the people get are propaganda speeches and attempts to manipulate an extremely bad situation for even worse political ends.
A proper policy for crime control must outline how to restore the rule of law, and indicate what resources will be made available to this end. Only the political leadership of the country can provide both these elements. The political leadership is responsible for budgetary allocations to make available the facilities needed by law enforcement agencies to do their jobs effectively. What contributes to increases in crime is the lack of efficient crime control measures backed by sufficient financial resources.
In this respect, it is also well known the salaries of law enforcement personnel must be improved. Success in crime control is determined very much by the competence of police investigators. This can be gained and maintained only by appropriately remunerating officers. With crime becoming more sophisticated, and with the free distribution of firearms throughout the country, without very competent law enforcement officers and high quality technical facilities, there is no possibility at all of countering the present wave of crime. The political leadership must face up to this reality, and the public must hold them responsible.
The irresponsible rhetoric of trying to link crime and the NPC does not speak well for the political leadership in the country. Such speech is dangerous too. Trying to diminish even the small achievements that have been made under the 17th Amendment will drag the country further down into the state of anarchy in which it has been mired in the recent decades.
The danger lies in people taking the law into their own hands and engaging in summary executions or other punitive acts as they wish. Recently, for instance, a group of women in Maharashtra, India lynched three rapists. When the court tried to remand them, mobs attacked it. There have been a few examples in Sri Lanka also when families and neighbours have stormed court premises to prevent lawyers from appearing for alleged rapists. In Cambodia, thieves are often brought to public places and beaten to death. All such actions are the product of the extreme collapse of the institutions of law enforcement, and concomitant public frustration.
The present talk about the increase in crime is not directed towards finding rational solutions and making necessary financial allocations, but about stirring up mob violence. Sri Lanka has seen enough of such violence in the past. People have a right to demand sanity from those who are in charge of political affairs. They have a right to demand that the 17th Amendment be properly implemented, as the most important measure in reducing violence in the country. They have an obligation to call for the further strengthening of the National Police Commission so that it will be able to fulfil its constitutional mandate and bring the police force under the proper management and disciplinary control it so greatly needs.
