Plan to cede police powers to agencies

[hobobo]

4 hours ago, jaywalker said:

Sounds like the cops' job in the future will have them doing exactly what they do now, which is NOTHING.

I disagree. The police would then be able to concentrate on more important work, like catching bridge players, for example.

[Songlaw]

9 minutes ago, Lamkyong said:

mmmm thanks for reply   just yourself then  ??

No, but due to a certain level of apprehension being required, my commentary is self-limiting. Oh, I'm sorry, that was a "TV" jab, was it? A thousand pardons; I am retroactively mortified, rest assured.

[tominbkk]

Police won't accept it.  Way too much money and mafioso at stake.

 

And even if they have to cede power, then the BMA will become the biggest corrupt money maker.  Their turn!

[Gandtee]

And who will check on these new agencies? 

[Muggi1968]

But this would increase the fines for traffic violation from 200 Baht cash to 500 Baht real fine .....

But it could also be the start  of something which is needed in Thailand..Law and order..

It newer  hurt to dream 

[LennyW]

Just more snouts in the trough!!

[DefaultName]

So, we'll have a lot of people, with guns, who's income has been drastically cut.  I can't see an issue there.  

[Stargeezr]

The police won't stand for this. Well the tubby ones anyway who have trouble

standing all ready.  Hope this will help the corruption problem, but I will not hold my

breath

Geezer

[wealthychef]

Which agency will be responsible for collecting and passing up bribes?  

[Ossy]

1 hour ago, YetAnother said:

watering down police influence is both vital and positive

Eliminating it altogether would be ten times better. How good a job could next year's newly-elected government do of starting the RTP with a totally blank slate? Mmm . . . mouth-watering images of the RTP one day being able to hold a candle to the UK Police.

[hstew]

What exactly is "sports crime"?

[farcanell]

May 'wonders' never cease because, at this stage of the game, incredulity is one of the only measurable emotional responses I have left..... Songlaw @ 14.

 

lucky for you, you live in Thailand.... amazing and incredible done daily.

some times amazingly incredible, or incredibly amazing, even.... Ah thailand. Hey? Hey? ????

[BernieOnTour]

From a non ideological, practical point of view...

 

Observing the speed, such things are normally done in Thailand, 3 years aren't a lot of time.

 

- to get the necessary change of laws in place

- identifying procedural changes and improvements, if it should make any sense to bear such huge project cost

- writing down the directives and procedures for that

- ensuring, the agencies have enough manpower

- train the agency staff

- in order not to double HR spending: either transfer Police officers to the agencies or lay off Police officers and hire new staff for the agencies

- ... etc. ...

 

What's not becoming clear from the news:

Nice intention to reform the public agencies,

  however:

What do they want to achieve with it? What's their vision?

 

Seems, the Thai Army has a very specific approach to run projects.

 

... Not impossible that this is only a balloon to frighten the shit out of the RTP to get their homework done.

 

[thaiguzzi]

A wise Thai once told me that power moves between the police and the army, depending on who is in govt.

And both sides at the top dislike each other.

Reds in govt = police have the power at the top.

Yellows in govt = army have the power at the top.

[serpent32]

Okay but what about “the further discussions regarding immigration”?  Is anyone thinking about the possible ramifications of what that could cause?  What potential changes if any?  

[PerkinsCuthbert]

What could possibly go wrong?

[serpent32]

1 minute ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

What could possibly go wrong?

Well the more I think about it nothing really.  All they’re talking about is switching around powers to different agencies not about changing any actual laws such as immigration.  

[serpent32]

Essentially all they’re considering is switching around responsibilities to different departments so honestly who cares, it doesn’t effect me.  

[jaywalker]

3 hours ago, hstew said:

What exactly is "sports crime"?

Elderly bridge players.

[473geo]

Nothing wrong with clearly defining and assigning areas of responsibility, it appears to me the agencies concerned will have new authority and responsibility to provide focus on transgressions in their area of expertise - why not?

[Grumpy Duck]

Most likely will end up just changing hats. 

[Eric Loh]

23 minutes ago, Grumpy Duck said:

Most likely will end up just changing hats. 

Or pockets

[Srikcir]

4 hours ago, Gandtee said:

And who will check on these new agencies? 

Good point.

Until there's an elected government, everything falls under Prayut, maybe to one of his DPM's.

After an elected government, my guess:

• The Office of the Attorney General of Thailand would seem to be a natural for oversight. Given the decentralization is so diverse (goes beyond Department of Transportation for example), the Office of the National Police Commissioner chain of command seems inappropriate. An alternative would be to place the NPB under the OAG, but is a whole other problem.

[natway09]

Transfer from one bunch of crooks to another ?

The Police will protect their nest eggs so will never happen

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, AlQaholic said:

.if a drug trafficker who is currently not trafficking drugs but is wanted for drug trafficking, he steals a yacht at a marina, guts a diver with the propellers, takes it to Cambodia, buys arms and tobacco there and smuggles it into the country by using a stolen car from Cambodia, he then crashes into another car on the highway, escapes from the stolen car, murders a bystander with a knife and then proceeds to

Taking your scenario seriously, the result would be that the "person of interest" would be investigated by multiple agencies according to their mission areas rather than a single police agency.

While that would complicate inter-agency coordination and greater professional investigative procedures, it does prevent a single police agency from controlling the investigation; thus, maybe ...... making corruption more difficult?

[Grumpy Duck]

5 hours ago, Songlaw said:

 

Happy to oblige:

 

An allusion was being made to the 'big deal' surrounding the "smartening up" of the RTP in yesterday's column, immediately followed by their duties being farmed out to just about every agency and organization to be found in Thailand except the RTP. Seriously, that's not funny? Thus the "all spiffed up and no place to go" commentary. Just thought that was exceptional irony, even by Thai standards. However, the rest was a perhaps not so thinly-veiled diatribe on overall circumstantial remediation in LOS.

 

I do not write for a broad audience as a matter of course as well as one of self-preservation. My 'audience' would be a small though similarly-minded group; admittedly, on this site, so small as to be effectually nonexistent. Or maybe I am just trying to "imitate the guy from Vendetta." So it goes.

Makes sense to me

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

This will totally neuter the currently too big police force. It's reach will be cut back dramatically. Fantastic news.

I Agree.

• It makes future coups more difficult to coordinate. Historically, all the junta needed was a former National Police Commissioner to take over control of the nation's entire police force. Unless a coup restarts centralization of all the law enforcement agencies (unlikely given a coup's short timetable for control), it will face multiple law enforcement agencies for control.
• Decentralization may also disrupt the traditional top-down chain of command corruption such as promotion buying.
• Decentralization will more skill-based law enforcement appropriate to the agency being supported that could make law enforcement more professional (all jokes aside). This could result in better training, use of resources, quicker case resolution and better prosecutions.

And therein lies the hurdle to success - adequate budget, diligent agency oversight and diligent national oversight to assure efficient and corruption-free performance. It remains on the details for this proposed decentralization. I am cautious that a government based on the concept of central control with absolute power can easily (albeit perhaps unintentionally) misfire this decentralization effort with "backdoor privileges."

 

All in all - a win for reform.

 

 

 

[wvavin]

Nothing is going to change. The only difference is that more people are now sharing the same piece of cake. 

[craigt3365]

29 minutes ago, natway09 said:

Transfer from one bunch of crooks to another ?

The Police will protect their nest eggs so will never happen

The police aren't running the country.

[craigt3365]

5 minutes ago, wvavin said:

Nothing is going to change. The only difference is that more people are now sharing the same piece of cake. 

It will make corruption much more difficult. Instead of a single agency responsible for enforcing pretty much every law in the Kingdom, a very powerful one with 230,000 people, numerous agencies will now be responsible. There will now have to be collusion between multiple agencies.

 

I do believe it was Thaksin who moved the police from the Ministry of the Interior to the office of the Prime minister. Thus creating his own private army. This has been one of the biggest problems over the years. Use of the police to help in politics.