By Shabana Ibrahim
The crime rate in the country has not shot up. Infact, there is a reduction in the number of crimes. But, the only problem is that the crimes that are now being committed are more brutal in nature than what they used to be and this is the issue that is alarming the public," senior DIG Chandra Fernando said.

To support his assertion, DIG Fernando quoted some statistics which indicated that in 1978 the number of crimes committed was 83,000 due to election violence but in 2002 the number had dropped to 49,000.

Addressing a news conference at the Palm Village Hotel last week, he outlined the purpose of the workshop that was being conducted by a group of Swedish experts on the theme, "Logical Framework Analysis" which covered vital areas, such as criminal investigation, and important aspects to be covered at scenes of crime.

The Senior DIG said many members of the public criticise the way the police conduct themselves and execute their duties. "The reason for standards in the police force declining is because for the last two and a half decades, the police have been preoccupied with combating terrorism and have deviated from traditional policing," he said.

Due to this distraction, the police are now lagging behind in executing their duties to their full potential. "Our police force needs to get a thorough training, and that is why we have agreed that every new recruit must now complete a training period of one year. For the first six months, they will be taught English and Tamil so that they will be competent in two national languages and the link language," he said.

Indiscretion among police personnel will immediately be dealt with. "We have proposed many changes within the police force that will gradually bring about a reformation of the conduct of the officers," he said.

The police have now sought the assistance of the Swedish Police and the Swedish Institute for Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA) to improve their techniques of combating crime. SIDA will initially train the police with the necessary skills and they will also provide the force with the necessary equipment, he added.

Superintendent of the International Police Affairs Division, Ulf Bejrum said that a programme of this nature encourages global solidarity. Most of the countries have a "huge wealth of knowledge to offer", he added.

"It is good to develop ties with other countries because criminality has no borders and therefore police forces need to build up strong links to combat criminals," Bejrum noted.

SIDA has already donated an automated fingerprinting and footprinting machine to the Sri Lanka police. They have also explained to the police that cordoning off a crime scene with a tape that reads "Scene of Crime - No Entry!" is more effective than using a rope.

DIG Fernando said that the most important issue is winning back the faith of the public. "It will take a slow and gruelling period of time for the changes to take effect, but the changes will be positive and long-term ones," he assured.