The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, with rising shootings, homicides, and attacks on prominent persons, and with civilians feeling unsafe, public confidence in the State security mechanism has been shaken. A stronger Police service is essential. I pose the following:

¶ 02 1. What are the current vacancies by rank in Sri Lanka Police? How long have they existed, and what steps are being taken to fill them? 2. For the past decade, please provide annual numbers of shootings, homicides, and organized crimes; numbers of arrests and prosecutions; and the number of incidents where investigations remain incomplete. 3. Does the Government consider the number of officers supporting the Police sufficient to suppress the current crime wave? Specifically, are we utilizing mechanisms under the Palermo Convention and UNTOC to combat organized crime? 4. What special measures has the Government taken to dismantle domestic and international crime networks operating here? 5. As pledged in the current Government’s policy statement, have special committees/independent investigations commenced into long-pending high-profile cases, including political assassinations of politicians, journalists, and sportsmen, and other civilian murders? If so, which persons and what is the progress?

¶ 03 Additionally, there is an international per-capita police standard—about 2.2 officers per 1,000 population. What decisions has the Government taken to meet such standards and to encourage recruitment to security services?

¶ 04 I also draw attention to murders of Lasantha Wickrematunge, Dharmeratnam Sivaram, Nimalarajan, Subramaniam Sugirdharajan, and the attacks on Poddala Jayantha, Keith Noyahr, Upali Tennakoon, Lal Hemachandra Mawalage, among others. What steps are being taken to hold perpetrators and those responsible accountable? Immediate new action is essential to halt this wave of killings and crimes.