Tuesday 6th January, 2026
The scourge of narcotics has eaten into the vitals of many institutions. Among those arrested and prosecuted for drug-related offences are some state employees including police officers. The proliferation of dangerous drugs has therefore come as no surprise. Juvenal’s famous rhetorical question comes to mind: “Who guards the guards?”
Thankfully, the police officers involved in the drug trade run the risk of having to face the full force of the law in case of being found out. The Police Department is considered one of the most corrupt state institutions in this country, but it makes a serious effort to rid itself of drug dealers among its members.
About 500 police officers are facing disciplinary action over drug-related offences, according to IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya. It is a matter of relief that the Police Department takes action against its own members. The Police Chief is reported to have said at a recent passing-out ceremony at the Sri Lanka Police College grounds in Anuradhapura that a considerable number of police officers have been dismissed for drug offences. This kind of self-correcting culture is rare in state institutions and should therefore be appreciated.
However, it is not only bad cops in the pay of drug dealers and other criminals who are suspended; good cops who courageously carry out their duties and functions and rile the politicians in power in the process also face disciplinary action or even termination instead of commendations and promotions.
The deplorable manner in which the police bigwigs throw their subordinates under the bus to appease their political masters has had a crippling impact on the morale of the police. One may recall the predicament of three police officers who took part in a raid on a cannabis plantation recently in Suriyakanda. The land where cannabis plants were found reportedly belongs to a family member of a ruling party MP, who together with a group of his party supporters set upon one of the police officers. The victim was hospitalised. The other officers were transferred. The police at the behest of their top brass unashamedly went so far as to arrest the assault victim and not the MP and his goons! Worse, the victim was suspended from service.
It has been reported that addressing the newly commissioned police officers at the aforementioned ceremony, Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala and IGP Weerasooriya emphasised the importance of professionalism, integrity and dedication for building a successful career in the police service. But in reality, these attributes alone do not help state officials achieve their career goals. The Acting Auditor General was overlooked when President Anura Kumara Dissanayake submitted nominees for the post of Auditor General to the Constitutional Council. He is the most eligible officer to head the National Audit Office, but he lacks what state officials need to secure top posts—political backing, which takes precedence over educational and professional qualifications and seniority in the public service.
A minister has come under a social media piranha attack, as it were, for referring to what may be described as an anti-effort workplace maxim: “More work, more trouble; less work, less trouble, and no work, no trouble.” What ails the state service is encapsulated in this one-liner, which is popular among shirkers in the public sector. It is only natural that ‘quiet quitting’ has become the norm in the highly-politicised state service where pleasing politicians is the way to climb the career ladder, as is public knowledge.
Many police officers have chosen to follow the aforesaid shirkers’ motto to avoid trouble. This may explain why a group of police officers just looked on while the JVP/NPP members were parking their buses in undesignated sections of the southern expressway on their way to the JVP’s May Day rally last year. If they had taken any action against the transgressors, they would have been transferred to faraway places.
It is only wishful thinking that a country without an independent state service can achieve progress.
from The Island https://ift.tt/1h7nUYP
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