Sri Lanka Police

Sri Lanka Police
ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලීසිය
இலங்கை பொலிஸ்
Crest
Crest
Shoulder flash
Shoulder flash
Flag
Flag
MottoPali: ධම්මො භවෙ රකඛති ධම්මචාරි, romanized: Dhammo Bhavē Rakkhathi Dhammachāri
(The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself)
Agency overview
Formed3 September 1866 (1866-09-03)
Preceding agency
  • Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972)
Employees76,139 (2016)[1]
Annual budgetRs 64.1 billion (2016)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
National agency
(Operations jurisdiction)
Sri Lanka
Operations jurisdictionSri Lanka
Legal jurisdictionAs per operations jurisdiction
Governing bodyGovernment of Sri Lanka
General nature
Operational structure
Overseen byNational Police Commission
HeadquartersPolice Headquarters, Church Street, Colombo 1
Elected officer responsible
Agency executive
Parent agencyMinistry of Defence
Child agencies
Facilities
Stations432
Police carsHyundai Elantra, Mitsubishi Lancer GLX
Police SUVsToyota Land Cruiser (J70), Mitsubishi Montero, Tata Sumo
Police MotorcyclesYamaha FJR1300P, BMW R1200GS, Yamaha XT250, Yamaha FZ6R, Suzuki GN250
Notables
Award
Website
www.police.lk

Sri Lanka Police (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලීසිය, romanized: Śrī Laṁkā Polīsiya; Tamil: இலங்கை காவல், romanized: Ilaṅkai Kāval) is the civilian national police force of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The police force is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout Sri Lanka. The police force consists of 43 Territorial Divisions, 67 Functional Divisions, 432 Police Stations with more than 84,000 people.[2] The professional head of the police is the Inspector General of Police who reports to the Minister of Law and Order as well as the National Police Commission. The last Inspector General of Police was Deshabandu Tennakoon.[3] The Acing Inspector General of the Police is currently Senior DIG Priyantha Weerasooriya, who was appointed on September 27, 2024[4]

During the Sri Lankan civil war, the police service became an integral part of maintaining of the nation's security, primarily focusing on internal security. Many police officers have been killed in the line of duty mainly due to terrorist attacks.

Sri Lanka Police officers on independence day parade

Specially trained commando/counter-terrorist units named Special Task Force are deployed in joint operations with the armed forces for counter-terrorism operations and VVIP protection.[5] The police command structure in Northern and Eastern provinces is closely integrated with the other security organisations under the authority of the Joint Operations Command.

The Police service can be reached across Sri Lanka on the 119 emergency number.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Budget Estimates 2017- Volume 3: Fiscal Year 2017". treasury.gov.lk. Ministry of Finance. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Police History". www.police.lk. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  3. ^ Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon appointed Acting IGP
  4. ^ newsdmp-w (27 September 2024). "Senior DIG Priyantha Weerasooriya Appointed Acting Inspector General of Police". PMD. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  5. ^ Kumara, Sumith. "Special Task Force - Specialized Units". www.police.lk. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. ^ "1-1-9 Emergency". www.police.lk. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

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