Inspector General of Police (Sri Lanka)
Inspector General of Police | |
---|---|
Sri Lanka Police Service | |
Abbreviation | IGP |
Member of | National Security Council |
Reports to | Ministry of Law and Order |
Nominator | President of Sri Lanka |
Appointer | Constitutional Council |
Constituting instrument | Police Ordinance, No. 16 of 1865 |
Precursor | |
Formation | 3 September 1866 |
First holder | William Robert Campbell (as Chief Superintendent of Police) |
Deputy | (SDIG) |
Website | www |
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Police. They are the most senior police officer in Sri Lanka and oversees all police personnel throughout the country. The IGP reports to the Minister of Law and Order, when the Police Service is under the Ministry of Law and Order as it is currently.
History[]
The post of Inspector General of Police in Sri Lanka can be traced as far back as 1797 when the office of Fiscal was created and Fredric Barron Mylius was appointed as Fiscal of Colombo and entrusted with responsibility of policing the City of Colombo.[1] In 1833, the Head of the Police Service was called the Superintendent of Police, in 1836 the designation was changed to Chief Superintendent of Police.[2]
The official establishment of the Ceylon Police Force was on 3 September 1866 when William Robert Campbell (then the chief of police in the Indian province of Rathnageri) was appointed as Chief Superintendent of Police in Ceylon to be in charge of the Police units.[3][4] This post officially became the Chief of Police but was soon changed to that of the Inspector General of Police accordingly William Robert Campbell became the first Inspector General of Police.[5]
The current Inspector General of Police is Pujith Jayasundara, who succeeded N. K. Illangakoon in April 2016.[6][7] Jayasundara was asked to resign by President Maithripala Sirisena, but has refused and has been put on compulsory leave in the wake of the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings debacle, Senior DIG C. D. Wickramaratne has been appointed as acting Inspector General.[8][9]
Removal[]
The Inspector General of Police can be removed through an investigation by a 3-member committee if found guilty of specified offence(s) under the .[9]
Inspector Generals of Police[]
# | Inspector General | Took office | Left office | Appointed by |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | George William Robert Campbell | 3 September 1866 | 1872 | Hercules Robinson |
2 | Frederick Richard Saunders | 1872 | 1873 | William Henry Gregory |
3 | George William Robert Campbell | 1873 | 1891 | |
4 | Louis Knollys | 1891 | 1902 | Arthur Hamilton-Gordon |
5 | Albert De Wilton | 1902 | 1905 | Joseph West Ridgeway |
6 | Cyril Longden | 1905 | 1910 | Henry Arthur Blake |
7 | Ivor Edward David | 1910 | 1913 | Henry McCallum |
8 | Herbert Dowbiggin | 1913 | 1937 | Robert Chalmers |
9 | Philip Norton Banks | 1937 | 1942 | Reginald Stubbs |
10 | Gordon Herbert Ramsay Halland | 1942 | 1944 | Andrew Caldecott |
11 | Ranulph Bacon | 1944 | 1946 | Henry Monck-Mason Moore |
12 | Richard Aluwihare | 1946 | 1955 | |
13 | Osmund de Silva | 26 July 1955 | 24 April 1959 | Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke |
14 | M. Walter F. Abeykoon | 1 May 1959 | 2 February 1963 | |
15 | S. A. Dissanayake | 3 February 1963 | 3 June 1966 | William Gopallawa |
16 | John Attygalle | 4 June 1966 | 7 July 1967 | |
17 | Aleric Abeygunawardena | 8 July 1967 | 13 September 1970 | |
18 | Stanley Senanayake | 14 September 1970 | 23 August 1978 | |
19 | Ana Seneviratne | 24 August 1978 | 14 March 1982 | J. R. Jayewardene |
20 | Rudra Rajasingham | 20 March 1982 | 20 March 1985 | |
21 | Herbert Weerasinghe | 20 April 1985 | 5 December 1985 | |
22 | Cyril Herath | 6 December 1985 | 31 July 1988 | |
23 | Ernest Perera | 1 August 1988 | 29 November 1993 | Ranasinghe Premadasa |
24 | Frank de Silva | 29 November 1993 | 31 July 1995 | Dingiri Banda Wijetunga |
25 | Wickremasinghe Rajaguru | 31 July 1995 | 31 August 1998 | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
26 | Lakdasa Kodituwakku | 1 September 1998 | 27 August 2002 | |
27 | T. E. Anandaraja | 1 October 2002 | 14 October 2003 | |
28 | Indra de Silva | 19 December 2003 | 30 September 2004 | |
29 | Chandra Fernando | 1 October 2004 | 11 October 2006 | |
30 | Victor Perera | 12 October 2006 | 31 June 2008 | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
31 | Jayantha Wickramarathne | 1 July 2008 | 2 November 2009 | |
32 | Mahinda Balasuriya | 3 November 2009 | 17 June 2011 | |
33 | Nugagaha Kapalle Illangakoon | 16 July 2011 | 11 April 2016 | |
34 | Pujith Jayasundara | 20 April 2016 | March 2020[N 1] | Maithripala Sirisena |
35 | C. D. Wickramaratne | 25 November 2020[N 2] | present | Gotabaya Rajapaksa |
See also[]
- Inspector-General of Police
- Sri Lanka Police
- Special Task Force
- Ministry of Defence
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ Pippet, G. K. (1969). A History of the Ceylon Police: 1795-1870 (Volume 1). Times of Ceylon Company.
- ^ Perera, Rienzie (3 September 2006). "The 140th Police Day Anniversary". Sunday Island. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ^ Dep, A. C. (1969). A History of the Ceylon Police: 1866-1913 (Volume 2). Times of Ceylon Company.
- ^ Roth, Mitchell P. (2001). Historical Dictionary of Law Enforcement. Greenwood Press. p. 54. ISBN 0-313-30560-9.
- ^ Stead, Philip John (1977). Pioneers in Policing. Patterson Smith. pp. 252–253. ISBN 9780875858036.
- ^ "Snr. DIG Pujith Jayasundara recommended for position of IGP". News First. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ "CC nominates Pujith Jayasundara as next police chief". Colombo Gazette. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ "IGP sent on compulsory leave". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Pujith Jayasundara sent on compulsory leave". Colombo Gazette. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
External links[]
- Sri Lankan Inspectors General of Police
- Police ranks of Sri Lanka