Police Tuk-tuks Make Perfect Sense : Here’s Why
Another week, another sensational topic of controversy on Sri Lankan social media, the new fleet of three wheelers issued to the Police Department of Sri Lanka. As with most events in our socio-political zeitgeist, a consensus is being formed in the court of public opinion, influenced heavily by social media thought leaders. The current public mood on the matter is predominantly negative, with exasperation and ridicule displayed towards the government’s decision. But it doesn’t need to be that way.
Any public prejudice towards the current regime’s policy decisions is not unwarranted. After all, the public have witnessed failures from short-sighted leadership on civil and economic fronts followed by blatant devolution of civil liberties and brash displays of authoritarianism weakening the rule of law. But it is possible the public might have allowed the resulting bitter emotions to cloud their judgement on this issue. To understand why the ‘tuk-tuks’ make sense as a police vehicle in the Sri Lankan context, an understanding is required on the many functions of a police vehicle.
Police vehicles are used for a multitude of functions. The main use cases that pop into mind are pursuit of fleeing criminals or arresting and detaining them to transport to the police station. In this context it is understandable that one might find a police tuk-tuk a laughable proposition. Images of a tuk-tuk rolling over a high speed corner or a detained suspect jumping out to escape while moving comes to mind, hilarious. The truth is that such functions are only one dimension of the applications of a police vehicle. A police vehicle needs to also act as a patrol vehicle, where a tuk-tuk comes handily in narrow urban streets of Colombo or rural trails where tuk-tuks already prove to be the vehicle of choice. The traits also help as a response vehicle, allowing officers to show up to calls quicker by navigating the urban maze of traffic more effectively. Tuk-tuks are also undoubtedly a better community relations vehicle, making the force more approachable to the people through a ‘people’s vehicle’.
The police tuk-tuk does not replace other police vehicles on their intended uses. The 600cc Suzuki motorbike fleet should be expanded as pursuit vehicles, the trucks can continue to serve in arresting as well as a squad car for larger numbers of officers. But the tuk-tuk is excellently positioned in the Sri Lankan context as a police vehicle in patrol, response and community uses. Similar to how the Ford Crown Victoria, the icon of American law enforcement was also used the most commonly used taxi vehicle, the tuk-tuk turns out to be an ideal tool for Sri Lankan roads and can work inversely as a highly practical police vehicle for Sri Lanka.
