Sri Lanka Police
Sri Lanka Police (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා පොලීසිය, romanized: Shrī Lanka 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. 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 current Inspector General of Police (Acting) is Deshabandu Tennakoon.
| Sri Lanka Police ශ්රී ලංකා පොලීසිය இலங்கை பொலிஸ் | |
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Crest | |
Shoulder flash | |
Flag | |
| Motto | Pali: ධම්මො භවෙ රකඛති ධම්මචාරි, romanized: Dhammo Bhavē Rakkhathi Dhammachāri (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 3 September 1866 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Employees | 76,139 (2016) |
| Annual budget | Rs 64.1 billion (2016) |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency (Operations jurisdiction) | Sri Lanka |
| Operations jurisdiction | Sri Lanka |
| Legal jurisdiction | As per operations jurisdiction |
| Governing body | Government of Sri Lanka |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overviewed by | National Police Commission |
| Headquarters | Police Headquarters, Church Street, Colombo 1 |
| Elected officer responsible | |
| Agency executive | |
| Parent agency | Ministry of Defence |
| Child agencies |
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| Facilities | |
| Stations | 432 |
| Police cars | Hyundai Elantra, Mitsubishi Lancer GLX |
| Police SUVs | Toyota Land Cruiser (J70), Mitsubishi Montero, Tata Sumo |
| Police Motorcycles | Yamaha FJR1300P, BMW R1200GS, Yamaha XT250, Yamaha FZ6R, Suzuki GN250 |
| Notables | |
| Award | |
| Website | |
| police | |
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.
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. 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.