COPA instructs Police to dispose of expired tear gas

The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has instructed Sri Lanka Police to dispose of the expired tear gas at all police stations across all of Sri Lanka.

Senior police officers who attended the meeting told the COPA that the process to discard the expired tear gas is already underway, assuring that these items would never be put to use again.

Chaired by the committee’s chairman State Minister of Transport Lasantha Alagiyawanna, the COPA convened a meeting on Wednesday (April 26) with senior officers of Sri Lanka Police in attendance.

The meeting was organized to examine the Auditor General’s report and current performance for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The COPA chairman also called for a report on the measures taken to control public riots including the use of tear gas.

Further, the committee instructed the senior officers that the next proposed program of the police department be submitted to the COPA within a month.

It was questioned as to why the recommendation given in this regard when the police department was called before COPA in 2016 is yet to be implemented. Inspector-General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne stated that since it is difficult to set up a single information technology system for the Sri Lanka Police, steps will be taken to introduce information technology systems in segments.

Accordingly, the police chief revealed that a new pilot project is currently being implemented in Hatton and Nuwara-Eliya police stations where details can be obtained from the filing of a complaint to the status of its court proceedings.

The COPA chairperson emphasized that it is essential to establish an information technology system in the police department where relevant information can be obtained immediately by integrating the motor transport department and other institutions. Accordingly, he instructed to give a report on the current program and the proposed plan to the Committee within a month.

Issues such as the lack of female police officers in the Sri Lanka Police were also addressed. It was disclosed that there are 2419 female police constable vacancies and it was proposed to complete the said vacancies in the year 2023. However, it could not be done due to the current economic situation.

The IGP said that the conventional context within the police force has been changed and the necessary reform program has been initiated to provide opportunities for women to higher positions including the post of Inspector General of Police in the future. He said that as a result, an opportunity will be provided for the emergence of a future female Inspector General of Police.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security, IGP and many senior police officials were invited to this event.