Testimonial from New Member - International Police Association

At the beginning of September, myself and Sam White (also from the BTP Branch) headed to Sri Lanka for the 6^th IPA Young Police Officer’s Seminar hosted by the Sri Lankan Section in Colombo. Originally scheduled for May 2020, it was a tad delayed due to Covid. The course was focused around Counter Terrorism, something very prominent in Sri Lanka's history.

Day 0

Arrived in Colombo, I had a chance to briefly meet Sam in Doha airport during our super short layover, it was 4.5 hours ahead of the UK in Colombo and I was a tad dazed on arrival. We were met at the gate by IPA Sri Lanka and then whisked through security and baggage claim. Given all the news about civil commotion over the past few months, I was a bit apprehensive about going, but in the end, I needn’t have worried. It was clean and inviting, the people were friendly. There were some queues at petrol stations, and it was obvious that it isn’t a rich country, however, there were no signs of disorder or upheaval.

After arrival at the Hotel, we had a chance to relax for a few minutes, then I went to a crab restaurant with some of the other attendees. We had officers from the UK, Canada, France, Netherlands, Estonia, Kenya, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, Cyprus, Poland, Israel and Spain. After lunch, we went to see the IPA HQ in the main Police Headquarters. The IPA over there is a big deal, they had a two-story building as a dedicated reception and meeting location. We had a chance to see the rehearsals for the Police Day Parade (more on that on day 2).

That evening we were hosted for dinner at the Senior Police Officer’s Mess, a grand colonial mansion from the days of British Ceylon. We had the Police Band for music and a series of traditional dances and displays. The Guest of Honour was the Minister for Security (the equivalent to our Home Secretary), who invited us all to the Police Day Parade.

Day 1

We were being hosted throughout the week by the Special Task Force, a paramilitary wing of the Sri Lanka National Police, which were formed during their Civil War to deal with the threat of Tamil terrorists. Since the war ended in 2009 they had refocused as a specialist operations department dealing with everything from CT to executive protection. One of the perks of being hosted by the STF was that we were escorted in a heavily armed police motorcade everywhere we went, I’m not sure who enjoyed it more – us or the civilian coach driver.

Our opening ceremony was a traditional welcome dance from officers in national costume in their training centre. All the delegates were wearing our full ceremonial uniform, I can confidently say that a winter weight police tunic is not suited to the jungle environment of 30⁰c & 100% humidity. Our lectures focused around the history of the STF and the evolution of the terrorism threat within Sri Lanka. Very interesting stuff, I didn’t realise just how extensive the war had been and the type of violence they saw. Let’s be glad the IRA never had towed artillery pieces.

At lunch we headed back to Colombo to the 156th Police Day Parade. This is the anniversary of the establishment of the Sri Lankan Police (then Ceylon Police), with a large parade of officers, demonstrations from specialist units and a closing ceremony detailing (I think) some legends of Sri Lankas history. Everyone of importance in the Police was there, alongside the President, Prime Minister and other dignitaries. The whole thing was pomp and circumstance of the highest order, came away with a big smile.

At the end of it we had a photo with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and the Inspector General (their Chief) of Police. Can’t say you get that type of opportunity too often in the UK…

After that it was dinner at the hotel and some beers.

Day 2

We started the day by taking part in the STF Remembrance Ceremony, where they remember the 400+ STF officers who lost their lives during the civil war. It was a big honour to take part and you can see the threads of the colonial past weaved into modern Sri Lankan traditions.

Following that, we moved on to more lectures. Some of the most recent attacks have been from homegrown Islamic terrorists, as opposed to Tamil separatists. Some real parallels to what we have seen within the UK and we were privileged to have high-level speakers giving us very in-depth analysis and discussion about terrorism. Of particular interest was the international funding plus the return of people who had fought abroad in Syria & Iraq and the threat they posed.

Day 3

It was back to the STF training facility for some demonstrations of their specialist capabilities. There was abseiling with some very dynamic techniques (that’s thanks but no thanks from me), motorcycles and VIP protection – including extraction under fire and driving. We had a chance to watch a demonstration of a hostage rescue by their SWAT team in their original SAS-built kill house. They have a very different ethos to the UK; one would guess borne by their history fighting a well-armed and trained adversary. It was hard, fast, and aggressive - they were clearly demonstrating a no-nonsense approach to fighting and enemy casualties.

We then had a chance to do some live firing with their issue Glocks and MP5’s. Considering the last time I lived fired was in 2009, I managed to get a reasonable number of shots on targets. Great fun though, I have no doubt some of our firearms instructors would be having palpitations and the slightly more ‘relaxed’ approach to range safety.

After lunch we had a last lecture on the civil war, before pictures in ceremonial uniforms and certificates. I managed to get a few excellent trades from STF officers, including the green beret of the sub-inspector in charge of specialist training. After that back to the hotel for dinner and more drinks.

Day 4

This was our ‘off’ day and a chance to experience the culture of Sri Lanka. It was a drive to an elephant sanctuary in the mountains, where orphaned, sick and otherwise maligned elephants were looked after. They recently had a pair of twins born (the first time in captivity), who were behaving just like you’d expect a pair of 100kg toddlers to act - elephant-themed chaos. There was the opportunity to feed some of the elephants, one with a leg problem stood around with her forelegs crossed. If you’ve never met a nonchalant elephant it is a peculiar sight. The sanctuary obviously does good work but the impact of loss of tourism income was painfully obvious, what should have been a heaving location was nearly empty.

Following that we headed up to Kandy to see the Buddhist Temple of the Tooth, which contained the holy relic of a Tooth of the Buddha. It was a beautiful shrine and driving through the mountainous jungle areas surrounding I really came to appreciate the beauty of Sri Lanka.

Then it rained. A lot. Even for a Brit.

Dinner in the evening was hosted by the STF in a waterside hotel in downtown Colombo, we had the police band back and their local whisky made from coconuts (it’s lethal stuff, be warned). Colombo really was beautiful at night.

Day 5

Everyone began their journeys home; Sam & I had an afternoon flight so were able to get a lie in and some lunch at our hotel. We said goodbye to what were now good friends and began – thanks to Qatar Air being useless - a long and painful journey home.

The course, accommodation and food were covered by the Sri Lankan section and I’ve managed to get most of the cost of my flights back thanks to bursaries from the IPA. Overall, I was so impressed with the course, the hosting from the Sri Lanka Section and the country at large. It was beautiful, clean, friendly, and I want to go back. Now I understand why Arthur C. Clarke spent his life there.

This is the last YPOS I’ll be eligible for, for everyone else I can’t say how much you should apply to go on one! 2023 is being hosted by New Zealand, then coming back to Europe after that.