Sri Lanka Police Announces Major Administrative Overhaul

COLOMBO (News 1st); A decision has been made to establish a new Central Criminal Investigation Bureau in addition to the existing Criminal Investigation Department. 

Furthermore, the CID will be reorganized to operate in two separate divisions.

Senior Superintendent of Police Buddhika Manatunga, the Police Spokesperson, held a press conference in Colombo today to clarify the new administrative changes within Sri Lanka Police

Under the new changes, a Central Criminal Investigation Unit will be established, comprising six divisions:

1. Illegal Assets Investigation Division
2. Homicide and Organized Crime Investigation Division
3. Financial and Commercial Crime Investigation Division
4. Cyber Crime Investigation Division
5. Human Trafficking and Smuggling Investigation Division
6. Marine Investigation Division

Additionally, a Criminal Intelligence and Analysis Division will also be part of this new unit. 

Investigations currently handled by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) will be reviewed and, depending on their significance and complexity, may be transferred to the Central Criminal Investigation Unit. The Inspector General of Police will make the final decision on these transfers.

The Central Criminal Investigation Unit will operate under the direction of Deputy Inspector General Nihal Thalduwa, with Senior Superintendent of Police Shani Abeysekara serving as its Director.

A new position, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police for Criminal and Financial Crime Investigations, has been introduced. Senior Deputy Inspector General Asanga Karawita has been appointed to this role, overseeing both the CID and the Financial Crime Investigation Division.

The Financial Crime Investigation Division will include two sections: the Financial Crime Investigation Section and the Illegal Assets Investigation Section. Deputy Inspector General Pavithra Dayaratne has been appointed to lead the Financial Crime Investigation Section, while Deputy Inspector General P. Ampavila will continue to head the CID.

SSP Manatunga also announced the establishment of separate crime divisions for each of the nine provinces. These divisions will operate under the direct supervision of the respective Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police for each province.