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| Sunday, 20 July 2003 |
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Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 1 429239 / 331181 Fax : 94 1 429230 Crime The news is that the Police are making greater efforts to combat crime in the country. To those of us who have been the victims of 'house-breaking and theft' or highway robbery or of any other crime, this may sound like closing the barn door after the horse has escaped. Nevertheless, all Sri Lankans will surely applaud these efforts by our officers in khaki. While any innovation in crime-fighting would certainly help, there is the urgent need to dramatically improve the application by the Police of existing procedures, stratagems, and technology. Whether it is traffic control, home security, child abuse, fighting dangerous drugs and or preventing street crime, the problem has been growing in leaps and bounds despite all previous pronouncements about efforts to redress the situation. Here, the finger seems to point mainly at the lack of efficiency, the mal-administration, the corruption and sheer non-implementation of measures as the principal cause of Police failure to make a serious impact on Crime. While the bulk of our police officers are decent, honest professionals, the antics of those officers who violate every norm, regulation and law to achieve their own ends to the detriment of law and order are enough to cloud the good with the poisonous smoke of the bad. Firstly, there is the problem of the poor application of existing procedures and the lack of resources in terms of finance, technology and human-power. Even if the officers are honest, there is the problem of inefficiency in the form of poor adherence to proper investigative procedures. Too often are there reports of a reliance on coercion or even torture for the extraction of information or confession rather than the application of forensic or other investigative procedures for the uncovering of evidence or corroboration of witnesses. Rarely, nowadays, is the public inspired by tales of scientific detection. Too often are the complaints of torture and intimidation. This, however, may be more a reflection of the desperation of officers lacking resources and technology to meet the sheer scale of crime today rather than a natural malevolence inherent in our khakied cadre. Leaving aside the extent of corruption, bribe-taking, nepotism, inefficiency, lethargy plaguing the Force, there is the ugly spectre of a police-underworld nexus on the one hand and a politician-underworld nexus on the other. Common are the reports of pressures allegedly brought on duty-conscious police officers by politicians in support of this or that suspected criminal or, indeed, well known underworld crime baron. In this light, the efforts by the Police Force itself to remedy its defects must be welcomed. At the same time, the recent tough stance taken by the Governmental party leadership against certain UNP local government legislators for their connection with offences is laudable. This is indeed an important landmark in governance and law and order in this country. If the Government remains firm in its resolve in this regard and extends similar strong action to others, including any national-level politicians who are implicated in offences, this will strike a bigger blow against crime than any errant act of intimidation or other bending of rules by our law officers. 1983 This month marks the 20th anniversary of the event that is now recognised as a turning point in the post-colonial history of the country - the ethnic riots of July 1983. While there are now several younger generations of Sri Lankans who did not experience that holocaust, all Sri Lankans today experience, in varying degrees, the continuing repercussions of that national tragedy. The Report of the Truth Commission that was appointed to investigate the incidents of Black July was issued last week. It is to be hoped that the conclusions and recommendations of this Commission are studied carefully by our political leaderships and that there is a candid public discussion as well. Only a sincere acknowledgment of the tragedy will redeem the nation as we now strive to transcend its equally tragic outcome. |
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