Sri Lanka Police (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොලීසිය, romanized: Śrī Laṁkā Polīsiya; Tamil: இலங்கை காவல், romanized: Ilaṅkai Kāval) is the civilian national police force of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

The police force is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout Sri Lanka.

[3] The Acing Inspector General of the Police is currently Senior DIG Priyantha Weerasooriya, who was appointed on September 27, 2024[4] During the Sri Lankan civil war, the police service became an integral part of maintaining of the nation's security, primarily focusing on internal security.

6 of 1806 appointed a Vidane Arachchi to each town or village, for prevention and detection of crime in rural areas.

1864: The first death of a police officer whilst on duty occurred when he attempted to apprehend a brigand by the name of "Saradiel", who was subsequently compared to Robin Hood.

The first police firing range, training college and the publishing of the annual administration report emerged during this year.

1908: Fingerprinting and photographing of criminals were initiated, along with the direct recruitment to the rank of Assistant Superintendents of Police.

The grading of police stations was considered depending on the workload, population, locality, crimes, important institutions, etc., in the area.

1963: Divisions in the police were made as North, Central, South, Administration, and Criminal Investigation Department.

D. B. I. P. S. Siriwardane, a civil servant, was the first civilian to be appointed as the Deputy Inspector of Police in charge of Administration.

In the last few years there have been calls to reestablish the independent National Police Commission[8] to oversee transfers and promotions, thereby making the service autonomous and free from any influence.

The police service is organised into five primary geographic commands, known as ranges (Range I, II, III, IV, V), covering the northern, western, eastern and southern sectors of the island under the command of a Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG).

Since 1971 the police service has suffered large number of casualties, with officers and constables killed and wounded as a result of terrorists and insurgents.

[9] In more remote rural areas beyond the immediate range of existing police stations, enforcement of simple crimes are carried out by the Grama Seva Niladhari (village service officers), but this has now become rare, with most villages covered by new police stations.

[10] The police service has a number of specialised units responsible for investigative, protective, counter-terrorism and paramilitary functions.

It played a major role in the government's combined force operations against the Tamil Tigers in Eastern Province before July 1987.

The new organisation combined intelligence units from the army, navy, air force, and police.

It was headed by a deputy inspector general of police who reported directly to the Ministry of Defence.

Currently steps are being taken to address this and personnel of all entry levels are recruited from all racial groups of the island.

Officers of the grade of Inspector and above who were mostly British wore white colonial uniforms, which are still used today for ceremonial occasions.

Constables wore dark blue tunics, shorts and a black round cap with a collar number.

Khaki uniforms were adopted by the beginning of the 20th century for practical reasons, along with other military and police units of the British Empire.

This was common for all ranks, with the constables wearing khaki tunics, shorts and hat, while always armed with a baton until 1974.

Senior gazetted officers (of and above ranks of ASP) may wear a waist sash in gold colour instead of the cross belt.

Mounted officers wear a red tunic for ceremonial occasions with a gold cross belt and a black custodian helmet.

Gazetted officers of and above the grade of superintendent wear black "gorget patches" on all types of uniforms.

Officers above the rank of sub inspector SI, tend to wear a short sleeve tunic like a "bush jacket" as part of their No.02 khaki uniform.

[22] Special Task Force personnel usually wear khaki uniforms which are slightly lighter in colour.

Sri Lanka Police officers normally don't carry weapons (but are advised to).

The Special Task Force with its wide range of duties is equipped with a greater variety of firearms and a higher degree of firepower to carry out military type counter-terrorism operations.