Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala said he has received multiple public complaints regarding delays in responses to calls made to the 119 police emergency hotline.

The Minister said he recently contacted the 118 National Help Desk hotline himself following a complaint from a member of the public, who alleged that no action had been taken even after three hours of reporting an incident to 119.

Minister Wijepala said this was following his advice to the complainant to call 118 to formally report the delay.

Wijepala said that such complaints are received by him on a daily basis.

According to the Minister, between 4,000 and 4,500 calls are received by the 119 hotline each day.

He also said there is increased public scrutiny of police actions compared to previous years.

While acknowledging ongoing criticism, Wijepala said the positive contributions of the Sri Lanka Police and certain officers have also been recognized.

The minister added that efforts are underway to further improve the police service, with the aim of building a more efficient and responsive system to better serve the public.