An Article published in the Ceylon Today, on 9th September 2015, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission
BY Ruwan Laknath Jayakody
All observers agree that policemen in Sri Lanka are poorly paid, poorly equipped and very poorly trained, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) explained.
Director of Policy and Programmes of the AHRC and the Asian Legal Resource Centre and Right Livelihood Award/Alternative Nobel Prize Winner, Basil Fernando said that the investigation of crime needs to be done only by skilled investigators who have been given the opportunities to be educated in regard to the various branches of the forensic sciences and other skills such as efficient communication skills that are a fundamental part of any modern institution.
The computerization of all documentation beginning with the recording of complaints and other evidence could within a short time bring great relief to all the citizens who resort to seek relief through the legal process, he added.
In the modern society, corruption and crime are sophisticated affairs, Fernando observed, adding that unless the law enforcement agencies were superior in their sophistication, they would become victims of all kinds of manipulations with the result that the present unhappy situation would continue.
“In the Statement of Government Policy presented by the President a clear emphasis of the commitment of the State to end corruption, waste and fraud has been outlined. Practically speaking, this objective can be met only if there is effective law enforcement. To end corruption, fraud and waste, there should be a financial commitment to significantly improve the law enforcement capacity of the government. The policing, the prosecution and judicial systems have been destabilized by the previous government due to its neglect of good governance. The Sri Lankan Policing service provides a useful example of the finances that are needed in order that it can become a modernized policing force with both human as well as other material resources which would allow them to function efficiently. In the United Kingdom, this process started as way back as in 1832 when the metropolitan policing system, which was based on the notion of policing by consent, was introduced. It was that process which has also been initiated in other countries like the United States of America and most European countries which has enabled these nations to achieve the levels of stability that they experience now. It is this stability that brings in investments and sustains their economies. The failure and instability of law enforcement in the country is a fundamental obstacle for countries like Sri Lanka in order to attract direly needed investments for its economy.
Therefore, it is essential to estimate the budget needed for the modernization of the policing system and institution.
We wish to emphasize if the needed budget is not provided, the Finance Ministry would have to take the responsibility for the failure to implement perhaps the most important policy declared in the Government’s Policy Statement which is to end corruption, fraud and waste. The Ministry of Finance has to understand the gravity of this situation and make a clear commitment by reserving adequate financial allocation for this purpose in the forthcoming Budget. From the point of view of enhancing the prestige of the law enforcement agencies in the international forums as well as enhancing public confidence in these institutions, the providing of adequate budgetary allocations for the proper functioning of the policing system would go a long way, he pointed out.
