During the parliamentary debate on November 18th, held during discussions on the expenditure heads of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Defence, MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake put forward an alarming figure.

The Statement:
He asserted that 20,000 police officers are scheduled to retire within the current year.

MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, claimed that large recruitment batches from 1987 to 1992 are now reaching the retirement age simultaneously, leading to an unusually high attrition rate.

He further noted that only around 600 new recruits are currently in training, contrasting this with the high number of expected retirements, and called for clarification from the Minister.

Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvPz9mhKRtk&t=3660s

factseeker Investigation

To verify the accuracy of the MP’s statement, FactSeeker contacted the Ministry of Public Security and obtained the official retirement projections for both the Police Service and the Special Task Force (STF).

Official figures significantly contradict the MP’s claim of 20,000 retirements in a single year. The Ministry provided a five-year projection covering 2025–2030.

Total 5-Year Projection:
A combined total of 15,686 officers (Police + STF) are expected to retire between 2025 and 2030. This entire five-year figure still falls short of the MP’s one-year claim.

2025 Specifics:
Only 2,707 officers are expected to retire in 2025—approximately 13% of the number cited by the MP.

Note: These figures include all ranks, from Police Security Assistants to high-ranking officers such as IGPs, Senior DIGs, and Senior Superintendents of Police.

Conclusion

The claim that “20,000 police officers will retire this year” is factually incorrect. Official data shows that fewer than 3,000 officers are due to retire in 2025, and even the entire five-year projection from 2025–2030 does not reach the figure quoted by the MP.

Therefore, MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake’s statement is classified as Misleading.