Sri Lanka Country Profile

Police

Individual Corruption

Observers report that citizens are frequently harassed by corrupt police officers who act with impunity. As an example, police demand free tickets from bus drivers and meals from shopkeepers, using threats and intimidation and even making up false charges against them if these free services are refused. On the other hand, private bus operators reportedly bribe traffic police in order to escape traffic citations.

The websites of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and the Asian Human Rights Commission 2006/2008 also reveal that corruption in the police is a problem, as many of their cases pertain to corrupt practices by the police, such as extortion, making false charges against citizens who refuse to pay.

Police are suspected of being involved in organised crime by offering protection to organised crime figures, smugglers and brothels.

Political Corruption

According to the Transparency International Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Governance Report 2008, the police are used by the government to suppress criticism. According to news on TamilNet 1 July 2007, members of the government opposition claim that if they make allegations about corruption within government institutions they will be subject to police harassment.

News reports from UPI Asia reveal that the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has made several decisions against police officers for abusing their powers of arrest and torturing people purely to obtain bribes, but the rulings are ignored. This adds to the general perception of police impunity.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010:
- Business executives give the reliability of Sri Lanka's police services to enforce law and order a score of 3.5 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'cannot be relied upon at all' and 7 being 'can always be relied upon').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Report 2005:
- The police were perceived by households to form one of the two most corrupt institutions in Sri Lanka.