COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
range for Colombo, each under the command of a Senior Deputy Inspector of Police
(SDIG). The current IG is N.K. Illangakoon.
―Policing is conducted through 401 police stations located throughout the country.
Police stations are graded into six categories and are under the charge of officers in the
rank of chief inspectors, inspectors and sub-inspectors, depending on the grade of the
station.
―Police stations are further grouped into 132 territorial districts, each under the charge of
a superintendent/assistant superintendent of police. These districts are in turn grouped
into 36 police divisions. Each division is under the charge of a senior superintendent of
police/superintendent of police.
―The police force also contains specialised units, handling investigations, information
technology, traffic control, marine protection, narcotics, counter-terrorism, paramilitary
and protective functions. As of 2008, the police established a Closed Circuit Television
Surveillance System to strengthen security in Colombo and established Scene of the
Crime Labs for each of the 36 Territorial Divisions, manned by specially trained Scene
of the Crime Officers for enhancing the effectiveness of criminal investigations and
establishing an electronic database.‖
8.05 The same source 124 added:
―The Special Task Force (STF) is an elite counter-insurgency unit of the police. The
STF was formed in 1983 to tackle the growing Tamil insurgency and initially had 1,100
members divided into various companies. The STF received part of its training from
Keenie Meenie Services, an offshoot of the British firm Control Risk which included
former members of the SAS and South African military. Since then, the STF has been
stationed largely in the volatile eastern province, although smaller units are posted in
other parts of the country, particularly for VIP protection in Colombo. Since the
recapture of the LTTE-held regions of the East, the STF has established numerous
camps in the Batticaloa-Ampara area.
―The investigation of organised crime is the responsibility of the Criminal Investigations
Department (CID) which is headed by a DIG [Deputy Inspector General of Police] based
in Colombo. The CID has the power to arrest anyone throughout Sri Lanka and can
operate independently of the SDIGs in charge of the geographical Ranges.‖
―After the emergence of the LTTE as the most serious and persistent threat to national
security, the government set up the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) which
investigates all aspects of LTTE activity within Sri Lanka. The TID has been criticised for
using the PTA [Prevention of Terrorism Act] to act with impunity to detain or arrest
politicians, journalists, trade unionists and ordinary civilians. Since the end of the war,
the PTA has not been revoked.‖
8.06 Jane‘s Sentinel Country Risk Assessments, Country Report, Sri Lanka 125 (accessed on
3 February 2012) also noted:
124 Jane’s Sentinel Country Risk Assessments, Country Report, Sri Lanka,
http://sentinel.janes.com/docs/sentinel/SASS_country.jsp?Prod_Name=SASS&Sent_Country=Sri%20La
nka& [subscription only] date accessed 3 February 2012, Security and foreign forces, 4 January 2012
64 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.