A Study on the Challenges Faced by Police Officials during the ‘Janatha Aragalaya’ (Public Unrest) in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This research paper investigates the challenges faced by police officials during the period of ‘Janatha Aragalaya’ in Sri Lanka. Public unrest situations are described as riots, protests, civil disturbance or any type of social agitations. ‘Janatha Aragalaya’ is one of the public unrest situations that occurred in Sri Lanka recently. This situation was created against the Sri Lankan government due to the ongoing economic crisis of the country. ‘Janatha Aragalaya’ presented significant challenges for police officials while performing their duties in order to maintain peace and secured environment in society. The prime intention of the study is to identify and analyze the key challenges faced by police officials, examining the underlined causes and, implications, and provide effective strategies to overcome the challenges successfully. A purposive sampling method was implemented and data was gathered through semi structured interviews. Content analysis method was utilized for data analysis. According to the study, the relevant parties of Sri Lanka police who had first-hand experiences during ‘Janatha Aragalaya’ situation in Sri Lanka was contacted and interviewed to gather relevant information. According to the study 75 percent of the sample stated that policing methods in modern society need to be advanced. 80 percent of the sample stated that policy makers should provide necessary support and attention during this kind of public unrest. By identifying the challenges, final outcome of the research concluded that relevant policy makers must take necessary precautions and provide necessary support to effectively address situations of public unrest in Sri Lanka, and the need to review policing methods to cater for changing societal needs.