Sri Lanka Police

Sri Lanka Police
ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලීසිය
இலங்கை பொலிஸ்
Sri Lanka Police; ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලීසිය; இலங்கை பொலிஸ்
	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	Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972);
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	Civilian police;
Operational structure
Overseen by	National Police Commission
Headquarters	Police Headquarters, Church Street, Colombo 1
Elected officer responsible	Ranil Wickremesinghe, ; Minister of Law and Order;
Agency executive	Deshabandu Tennakoon, ; Acting Inspector General of Police;
Parent agency	Ministry of Defence
Child agencies	Special Task Force; Criminal Investigation Department; Terrorist Investigation Department; Police Narcotic Bureau; Children & Women Bureau; Marine Division;
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	Awards and decorations of the Sri Lanka Police;
Website
	www.police.lk

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.^[2] 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.^[3]

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

^ ^a ^b "Budget Estimates 2017- Volume 3: Fiscal Year 2017". treasury.gov.lk. Ministry of Finance. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
^ "Police History". www.police.lk. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon appointed Acting IGP
^ Kumara, Sumith. "Special Task Force - Specialized Units". www.police.lk. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
^ "1-1-9 Emergency". www.police.lk. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

[finmin-1] "Budget Estimates 2017- Volume 3: Fiscal Year 2017". treasury.gov.lk. Ministry of Finance. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.

[:0-2] "Police History". www.police.lk. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[3] Senior DIG Deshabandu Tennakoon appointed Acting IGP

[4] Kumara, Sumith. "Special Task Force - Specialized Units". www.police.lk. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

[5] "1-1-9 Emergency". www.police.lk. Retrieved 10 November 2020.

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