The Inspector General of Police (IGP) is the professional head of the

Sri Lanka Police (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...

. They are the most senior police officer in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

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 Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

and entrusted with responsibility of policing the City of Colombo. 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. The official establishment of the

Ceylon Police Force (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...

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. This post officially became the

Chief of Police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the b ...

but was soon changed to that of the ''Inspector General of Police'' accordingly William Robert Campbell became the first Inspector General of Police. The current Inspector General of Police is

Pujith Jayasundara Pujith Senadhi Bandara Jayasundara ( si, පූජිත් සේනාධි බණ්ඩාර ජයසුන්දර) also simply known as Pujith Jayasundara ( si, පූජිත් ජයසුන්දර) (born 15 March 1960) is a for ...

, who succeeded

N. K. Illangakoon Nugagaha Kapalle Illangakoon (born 12 April 1956) was the 33rd Sri Lankan Inspector-General of Police, serving from 16 July 2011 to 11 April 2016. He also served as an advisor to the Ministry of Defence. Early life and education Nugagaha Kapal ...

in April 2016. 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 On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three churches in Sri Lanka and three luxury hotels in the commercial capital, Colombo, were targeted in a series of coordinated ISIS-related terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, there were smaller explo ...

debacle, Senior DIG C. D. Wickramaratne has been appointed as acting Inspector General.

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 Removal of Officers (Procedure) Act No. 5 of 2002.

Inspectors General of Police

Notes

References

External links