A National Crime Database to be Introduced and Adapted

The absence of a digitized database of criminal activities by Sri Lanka’s law enforcement agencies has been cited as one of the primary reasons for the country’s high rate of violence and criminality states Western provincial head of Police IGP Deshabandu Thennakoan.

IGP made these remarks during a press briefing at the Government media department on the topic of the role and responsibility of the police in combating organized crime. In the next three months, he elaborated, the government and police will take additional measures and implement new programs to combat the country’s increasing crime and violent activity rates.

IGP Desgabandu explained “Considering all of the significant organized crimes that have occurred in Sri Lanka over the past decade or so, the police and the government strongly felt the relevance and necessity of a centralized database of criminal activities and those who were apprehended on their behalf”. The Sri Lankan police already utilizes a centralized database system, but it has a number of flaws and defects that need to be resolved. Moreover, if this system were functioning properly, it would be impossible for these criminals to evade law enforcement and conceal themselves without being apprehended.

“Within the next two to three months, the Sri Lankan government and police hope to create a fully centralized database of registered criminals and criminal activities that have occurred throughout the country. This will allow authorities to discover relatives who had relationships with criminals that had helped them gain access to certain locations where these criminals sought refuge, as well as additional important details”.

The Sri Lankan police have obtained a comprehensive report from the department of immigration and emigration regarding the identification of individuals who have committed and engaged in organized crimes in the country over the past decade. We were also able to determine who had forged their passport documents and ventured abroad. We are also hopeful that, with the assistance of the International Police, we will be able to apprehend and extradite felons who evaded Sri Lankan law enforcement by forging their immigration and emigration documentation.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) provided additional clarification that the Police have commenced investigations into significant instances of organized crime that occurred over the past five years, specifically throughout the Western and Southern provinces of Sri Lanka.

It is important to note that there is existing understanding regarding the ability of imprisoned criminals to keep engaging in criminal activities regardless of their imprisonment. In the upcoming months, law enforcement authorities will be implementing comprehensive measures aimed at entirely eliminating any potential for imprisoned people to engage in criminal activities during their time behind bars.