A comment on the CID and its recent deterioration

(Excerpted from the Memoirs of Senior DIG (Retired) Edward Gunawardene)

During my short attachment to the CID I not only got some practical experience in criminal investigation, but also came to know of the intrigue and throat cutting that goes on in the Police Department for promotions and political recognition. There was no special procedure for the selection of personnel to the CID. But I found it difficult to comprehend why the officers particularly the Inspectors believed that they were superior to the officers performing police functions islandwide in the field. This was a myth that swayed the thinking of not only the top management of the department but also defence ministry officials.

Officers of the CID, then and even now, only perform investigations of cases specially assigned to them. They do not work to a timeframe and they work closely in liaison with the Attorney General’s Department. The officers in charge of police stations are saddled with numerous tasks; investigation of crime, crime prevention, traffic control, public order and VIP Security to mention a few. Above all, unlike CID officers they have to perform their tasks in the full gaze of the public.

It is indeed unfortunate that this prestigious unit within the Police Department has deteriorated even further. As I write this, the CID has become virtually a disgraceful outfit most willingly and unabashedly doing ‘dirty work’. To put it in brief, if a crime of public interest, but of embarrassment to the government of the day has to be shelved it is entrusted to the CID. Little happens thereafter. The public are fooled. The matter is forgotten. And of course the shameless, unprofessional ‘investigators’ are rewarded.

In 1958 at the time of my attachment to the CID, it was headed by David Pate Superintendent of Police. He was assisted by ASP Rajasooriya. S.K. Iyer and Ambalavanar were the other Senior offiicers. The Senior inspectors were Tyrell Goonatilleke, L.M.P. Silva, S.K. Chandrsekera and R.C. Thavarajah. L.M.P. de Silva who was better known as Lumpy was attached to the Special Branch. Chandrasekera who later became a prominent officer in the Prime Ministers Security division was also attached to the Special Branch.

Of these senior inspectors Thavarajah impressed me most. He was an outstanding investigator. Jaffna educated and well read in English literature his erudition and wit were admirable qualities. Unlike his Senior Goonetilleke, Thavarajah was not spiteful to his colleagues. He was honest to the core even morally and intellectually.

I remember David (D.C.T.) Pate as a soft spoken elegant Burgher gentleman who looked more like a university academic than a police officer. I had little contact with him perhaps because he was on the verge of retirement. However, after I had left the CID I met him at the Senior Officers Mess. One evening as I stepped on to the front verandah of the Mess there were two fair gentlemen seated together enjoying a drink. As I passed them I head one say, “Wait a minute, Sonny”. As I looked back David Pate, to my surprise got up from his seat and said, “Edward, meet my father”. The gentleman sharing a bottle of Gordon’s Gin with David was none other than his 80-year old father! Pate (Senior) was well known in the country as a racing correspondent. To see an 89-year old father having a drink with a son approaching his sixties is indeed an experience to remember.