New IGP assumes duties tomorrow

Sarath Malalasekera

New Inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickremaratne will assume duties tomorrow, July 1.

Senior DIG Jayantha Wickremaratne will take over the reins from IGP Victor Perera who retires as IGP today. Wickremaratne recently received his Post Graduate Diploma Certificate in Criminology from the Sri Jayawardenapura University.

He completed his education at Thurstan College and later obtained an Honours Degree on Public Administration from the Sri Jayawardenapura University in 1973.

Wickremaratne joined the Police Force in 1974 as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and was promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police in 1983. He was promoted as a Senior SP in 1989 and as Deputy Inspector General of Police in 1993.

Senior DIG Wickremaratne had followed a course on ”Role of the Police in Management of Crisis” at the Police Academy at Baton, Roughe, USA. United Nations Police Commanders at Swedish Armed Forces, South Asia Law Enforcement Training Course on Counter Narcotics in Male, Maldive Islands conducted by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington, USA.

The first ever “Police News Magazine” was published in 2003 under the chairmanship of Senior DIG Jayantha Wickremaratne.

The new IGP is a member of the National Dangerous Drug Control Board, Director, National Child Protection Authority, Council Member of the International Police Organisation, Secretary and President of the Police Savings Association, President, Sri Lanka Amateur Kabadi Federation in 2001 and Chairman, Police Kabadi Tournament Committee since 2000. He was responsible for setting up a “Disaster Management Team Control Centre” on the direction of former IGP Chandra Fernando to assist the Police personnel and public who were affected by the tsunami.

Attorney-at-Law Anoma Goonetillek who is the wife of the New IGP Wickremaratne was the former Secretary of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL).