By According to the police, there have been a total of 89 incidents of shootings during this period, of which 77 have been fatal, 40 have resulted in injuries, and 15 had neither a fatality nor an injury within the last six months of the year that has just ended.
The Western Province and the Southern Province have seen the highest number of shooting cases, with 18 deaths by shootings and 12 injuries in the Western Province and 16 deaths and 11 injuries due to shootings in the South.
Burglars innovate and exploit Victims
A Colombo-based private crime investigator remarked that the burglars have been very innovative. There have been a number of cases where households that are reluctant to report the crime to the police have been burgled.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the investigator said that a house of a wealthy businessman dealing in the black market was burgled, and a sum of USD 10,000 was stolen. The burglars were well aware that the businessman would not report the matter to the Police since he was dealing in the foreign exchange trade illegally.
In another incident, the residence of a lawyer who was being investigated for making fraudulent documents was burgled, and he was reluctant to complain about the burglary as he thought a complaint would further complicate matters.
Vulnerable Women Targeted in Chain Snatching Surge
The most commonly reported crime has been snatching chains from vulnerable women. Police stations in Maharagama, Kesbawa, Mirihana, and Piliyandala confirmed that they have been receiving an average of ten chain-snatching incidents per week.
Increased Burglary Drives Security Boom
The increase in burglaries has resulted in an increase in sales of CCTV cameras and service contracts for private security companies.Police Overwhelmed, Public Urged to Be Vigilant
The Police have advised people to be more vigilant. However, the police are finding it difficult to investigate complaints due to a staff shortage. A caller to the Paliyagoda Police station was told that the entire police force is engaged in the ongoing drug offensive.
Police spokesperson Ajith Thalduwa stated, “What we have identified is that the number of house break-ins and the number of shootings have increased. There is nothing that we can do about that.”
A police officer in the Mirihana area said that most burglars arrested in the past few months have been daily wage laborers who have been out of work or habitual drug addicts who don’t have employment due to the collapse of the construction sector.
Lankanewsline Crime Reporter: Ranil Kumara Disaanayaka
