Royal Thai Police to undergo major reform

[EyesWideOpen]

The police is doing a good job. Streets are safe, there is no major gang problem..

The main problem as I see it is the government inability to order the police to clear some major protest site, but that is more a political problem than a police problem. That a deranged monk be able to hire a private army, block a major road and create mayhem for 6 month is not acceptable.

Sorry but the police can't be held responsible for that, we are not idiots !

There is no major gang in thailand because the "Police" itself is the "gang" here.

Exhorting bars, restaurants, and clubs owner, Song-tail drivers, minvan business, and so on.. Everyone who owns any business here knows this.

where the money is, the "gang" is there to pick up the monthly commission, it's all even on youtube to see... why do you think Tuk-Tuk are still operating in the time of ages?

They "steal" money from motorcycle and car drivers throwing rules on your face that do no exist. They are the mafia here.

There was an article in The Paper That Shall Not Be Named a few years ago, and it estimated the police earnings at around 25 billion baht per year.......

[EyesWideOpen]

Strange how they are removing the "Royal" out of the name.

Makes perfect sense. Appending the term Royal in front of this band of mafia

thieves is the ultimate case of ongoing lese majeste.... If they actually change the

name , nice to see somebody come to their senses.

[Stradavarius37]

Any reform is better than than no reform, and no reform is what we have had for a long time. Cue the cynics......

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Yes, because past experience tells us that we have no reason to be cynical at all.

There you are, cute lil monkey. I was hoping you'd show up!

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[bangrak]

When the RTP would be a building, any engineer with a sound mind would report: beyond salvation, tear it all down, burn the remains, dig out the footing too... But, let's be positive: every officer above the rank of captain, who is 100% honest and was never involved in corruption should get a solid gold medal, my guess is it would be a good incentive, and bloody cheap too, maybe 1kg. would do, nationwide! PS: I, personally, know, a few, decent, honest, officers, with a commendable sense of honour and duty, but their chance of making a career is below freezing point, even their colleagues in the ranks 'seem to' (carefull)consider them as traitors...

[rmlexe]

Out of the topics that he could have mentioned in his, "reply when asked" the fact that one of the 3 points was ensuring people earn sufficient earnings doesn't seem appropriate. Was that meaning to ensure the police earn / accept sufficient funds or people in general, if the later I'm pretty sure it's the labour department who should be concerning themselves with that not the police. To the person who previously posted, "They have been around and think the police here are doing a great job", was that a joke?

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[Seekingasylum]

First off, I think that most of us here on TV support what the general is trying to do. It has only been a week, so lets cut the man some slack. At the moment he has quite a few irons in the fire and is having to shuffle them around constantly. The man has done more in 1 week than I have seen in the 10 years I have been here, I applaud you sir. We have our tv's back working for the most part, while the internet is slow and some sites not available, it has not stopped. We all like to live our lives as we see fit, but we made the decision to live in Thailand, so we should accept the curfew for the little while it is in force.

We all have our ideas about what needs to be done, but lets cut the man some slack.

Very amusing irony. However, I should imagine some might think you were serious and just another raving lunatic labouring under a congenital deformity and entering senility.

[Clendenin]

Well, I most certainly agree that some radical and thorough surgery of the police is necessary. It has been accomplished in other countries, so it could be done successfully here as well. But it could be very unpleasant, even for we farang. Agree also that the military needs to clean house too. But we will have to wait and see. So far I salute Gen. Prayuth. But he'll have to be tough and develop a very thick hide against the western press's sniping. If he cannot succeed this time, I fear that Thailand is in for a looooonnnnng period of unpleasantness. Most of our Thai family here are in academia, but a few are in health professions and business. The business owners do seem concerned for the future, but have their hopes on the military's quick (within a year or so) success.

[beautifulthailand99]

Well, I most certainly agree that some radical and thorough surgery of the police is necessary. It has been accomplished in other countries, so it could be done successfully here as well. But it could be very unpleasant, even for we farang. Agree also that the military needs to clean house too. But we will have to wait and see. So far I salute Gen. Prayuth. But he'll have to be tough and develop a very thick hide against the western press's sniping. If he cannot succeed this time, I fear that Thailand is in for a looooonnnnng period of unpleasantness. Most of our Thai family here are in academia, but a few are in health professions and business. The business owners do seem concerned for the future, but have their hopes on the military's quick (within a year or so) success.

Let's hope he is a 'short-time' general to coin a phrase....

[paymaster]

I think the current salary arrangements have to be changed fitst. They must remove that part that says "9000bt/ month plus tips etc."

[Strangebrew]

Ok sweet then only have to bribe at centeral point efficent.

[selftaopath]

If they actually paid the police a decent wage, supplied them with vehicles (and gas money, many cops pay for their own gas to get to assignments!), and created an atmosphere of service to the country, then, and only then, would they ever expect to see some reform.

The majority of cops want to give service to their fellow Thais, but under the current structure it is impossible. You cannot expect current Thai police to take a stand and move beyond the corruption when on their salary they can't even afford to pay their kids school fees.

Can you tell me the amount a newly "hired" policemen earns each month? Is the salary commensurate of education? How about the amount a police receives if advanced in rank? How does this salary compare to same skill set in the public domain?

Thanks

[rmlexe]

@ whoever wrote the giant post full of s**t - Yes those of us who live in Thailand become accustomed to the monthly road side robbery once a month and have the art of sliding afew hundred baht into the fine book like a magician doing a card trick, but that surely gives me the wright to completely disregard road laws for the rest of the day, park where I want and generally get my 250 bahts worth. It's a shortsighted solution by people who don't genuinely care or are too moronic to see beyond it. Yes policing is a dangerous job, as is the fire service, sea rescue service etc, but the ridiculous notion that brazenly extorting money from the general public, regularly, on mass can brushed under the carpet as, "Oh it's just how it goes" or be justified because they are not paid enough is complete cr*p. Get another job then like millions of people do. I remind myself that in my home country, I would have surely been fined hundreds of thousands in fines for Driving and using the telephone or other Driving offenses that have probably cost me afew thousand Baht. The police are supposed to be upholders of the law and protectors of the public and have been appointed this position of power because those basic values of doing the wright thing are unconditional, irrelevant of their bank balance towards the end of the month. "The money is filtered down the ranks in an organized fashion"! No pal it isn't, they actually risk life an limb to avoid there partners seeing how much they take sometimes. Anyway the roadside robberies are just annoying but a much more concerning side to it all is when you are actually at the mercy of Police when it is serious. I have first hand experience of how the financial demands can lead to outright in humanities when not met. Sorry to say but the overwhelming number of brown suit wearing mafia make it impossible to have faith in any that be out there who are straight. I liked the Walt Disney bit also about the young fresh recruits with good intentions you see at immigration. Keep the Army lock up the mafia

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[rmlexe]

Que the police academy theme tune

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[Luk Mhee]

Looking back at the (RTP) track record this is a positive move to bring back equality, no longer will the wealthy get priority over the majority, all will be treated equal and soon we will become one nation of equal rights.

[Rykbanlor]

Any reform is better than than no reform, and no reform is what we have had for a long time. Cue the cynics......

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Seems more like realism than cynicism to me. The details in the article were pretty vague. Decentralising power is one thing. Policeman actively enforcing the law and not taking bribes is another.

Lets see how its panned out this time next year.....

[jpeg]

The Royal Thai Police may be dissolved

Don't get too excited by yet another eye grabber on this forum. And :

He said that this would be the good time to regain the police image.

When did the Thai police ever have anything but a bad image?

[The Deerhunter]

After thinking about it overnight. The OP says the Police have been planning this for a while and must also be aware that the General is not impressed with them in any way. My guess is they have announced it as a delaying tactic to keep him off their backs for as long as possible. If they are the architects of this chjange, themselves it will have been done to maximise empire strucure, promotion opportunities & power. Probably none of the things the general would have in mind if he was doing it. Let's see where it goes.

Edited May 28, 2014 by The Deerhunter

[webfact]

related:

Mass police transfer in new purge at Royal Thai Police force

Full story: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/729713-mass-police-transfer-in-new-purge-at-royal-thai-police-force/

[The Deerhunter]

First off, I think that most of us here on TV support what the general is trying to do. It has only been a week, so lets cut the man some slack. At the moment he has quite a few irons in the fire and is having to shuffle them around constantly. The man has done more in 1 week than I have seen in the 10 years I have been here, I applaud you sir. We have our tv's back working for the most part, while the internet is slow and some sites not available, it has not stopped. We all like to live our lives as we see fit, but we made the decision to live in Thailand, so we should accept the curfew for the little while it is in force.

We all have our ideas about what needs to be done, but lets cut the man some slack.

Very amusing irony. However, I should imagine some might think you were serious and just another raving lunatic labouring under a congenital deformity and entering senility.

I am sure he is not being Ironic. But you are surely being sarcastic? I agree with him 100% about the coup. So far so good. The only ones really screaming are the unrealistic civil-rights loonies and the die-hard UDD apologists. And even a few of them have modified their outlooks. If the general manages to avoid the worst of the usual coup pitfalls, this could be the best thing for Thailand. I prefer to adopt an optimistic view until proven otherwise. Just remember how bad things were a month ago and breathe a sigh of relief.

Edited May 28, 2014 by The Deerhunter

[useronthenet]

Trying to reform the police force is an admirable gesture, but fails to address deep-rooted corruption that resides in the bowls of this institution. Furthermore, the point of moving an officer of the law to a redundant position in cases of either not enforcing the law, or being implicated in impropriety, should also be also abolished. Unless a system of complete transparency and accountability is introduced, then one can only assume that not much will change within the ranks of the force. Afterall, repackaging or rebranding a product doesn't necessarily change it's content. However, these are early days, and significant reform could be adopted, one can only hope !

Edited May 28, 2014 by useronthenet

[The Deerhunter]

And who is going to reform the military? Just asking.

Not, "Just asking" Really, "just lifting your leg" as per your avatar against an attempt to fix a really bad situation. You never know. I would not be surprised if the nice general may have some domestic housekeeping in mind as well. Just remember how bad things were a month ago and be happy at the results already. Please keep the best interests of all Thai's at heart before taking cheap shots. Or if you are right, keep your toothbrush in your pocket & don't answer the door.

[The Deerhunter]

And who is going to reform the military? Just asking.

Not, "Just asking" Really, "just lifting your leg" as per your avatar against an attempt to fix a really bad situation. You never know. I would not be surprised if the nice general may have some domestic housekeeping in mind as well. Just remember how bad things were a month ago and be happy at the results already. Please keep the best interests of all Thai's at heart before taking cheap shots. Or if you are right, keep your toothbrush in your pocket & don't answer the door.

[JohnnyJazz]

The problem as I see it is it seems obvious election will always return a government that is not in line with what some elite expect. So what this elite want to achieve is a justice, a police, and an army that doesn't answer to the elected government.

It's a bit bit weird for a western mind but once you understand that the current situation makes a bit more sense.

Next question is why bother with election in the first place ?

[wolf5370]

Anyone can say 'reform' the proof will be in the pudding.

I dont really see how making it a ministry would make much difference.

Lets wait and see, hopefully its not just talk.

I presume its an attempt to break up the thiefdom that is the RTP. Putting a minister in change is not the real difference, although presumably with a dedicated ministry it will have to account for itself to parliament like any other ministerial department - i.e. more visible and accountable. By breaking it into 17 departments - and I better at least one of those will be a dedicated Internal Affairs Dept. plus a replacement for the DSI - it does a few things: It removes the tight pyramid at the top - as there will be many heads and each would have to report to the minister; it also allows for better use of cops - rather than all of them standing on roads collecting crash helmet fines and working as security and crossing guards - imagine a dedicated theft and robbery force, that would allow cops to actually turn up and investigate these crimes - which they mostly never bother to do now! I also expect one of the police departments would be a dedicated PR department to handle promotions, training, hiring, etc - this makes it harder to bung the boss 20k for a promotion.

[The Deerhunter]

I was right. It was a self-defence move to play for time & try & keep the general at bay. Didn't work!!!! 16 commanders "in red infested areas" moved to inactive roles. So, what did everyone else think the General has been doing for the last 7 months (or 2.5 years)??? I would hate to play chess against this guy. The news just keeps getting better & better. Keep it up, Sir. And to quote Corporal Jones, "They don't like it up 'em."

[Dogmatix]

I was right. It was a self-defence move to play for time & try & keep the general at bay. Didn't work!!!! 16 commanders "in red infested areas" moved to inactive roles. So, what did everyone else think the General has been doing for the last 7 months (or 2.5 years)??? I would hate to play chess against this guy. The news just keeps getting better & better. Keep it up, Sir. And to quote Corporal Jones, "They don't like it up 'em."

Instead of playing golf on Wednesdays with the rest of the officer corps he was probably drawing up his detailed contingency plan in case a coup was needed.

Was watching Spring News this morning and saw a list of another 6 who were transferred to perform "duties at the National Police HQ in Bangkok". They were all city police chiefs. I caught Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Pattaya. The provincial police chief of Chiang Mai has got the axe too. Spring News showed a roomful of senior cops listening the announcements and wincing when they heard the names. Being kicked out of a powerful job like that means that your income suddenly goes down from God knows how many millions of USD per year to your official police salary of about B30k per month. Ha ha.

I think this is only the first wave of Prayuth's night of the long knives but I believe he will do most of it quickly. I read in a management book once that if you need to sack people, it is best to sack them all at once because the shock to the troops of three sackings is not equal to sum of the shock of sacking one a month for three months. I tried this out in management, when I was regrettably forced to fire people and found it to be very true. I think Prayuth has the same idea and also wants to make absolutely clear what is in store for any governemnt officials who fail to toe the line.

What a difference from the aftermath of the 2006 coup!

Edited May 28, 2014 by Dogmatix

[keemapoot]

I suspect Thai military intelligence must be a lot better and more connected than most thought. Don't underestimate their abilities.

[Dogmatix]

I have hardly ever met a Thai who is not a policeman or related to the police who doesn't hate them.

Meaningful reform would win the junta many brownie points with the population, make it easier to handle corruption cases, make life more difficult for armed red shirt militants and significantly weaken Thaksin's grip on the country.

Weakling Sarayud talked about police reform and decentralisation as PM after the 2006 coup but backed down immediately in the face of police opposition. This guy fears no one. Let's hope he keeps up the momentum and doesn't back down. He needs to put some senior cops perhaps behind bars to make it really work, not just transfer them to the Police Anti-Mosquito Unit.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Dogmatix

[wolf5370]

I was right. It was a self-defence move to play for time & try & keep the general at bay. Didn't work!!!! 16 commanders "in red infested areas" moved to inactive roles. So, what did everyone else think the General has been doing for the last 7 months (or 2.5 years)??? I would hate to play chess against this guy. The news just keeps getting better & better. Keep it up, Sir. And to quote Corporal Jones, "They don't like it up 'em."

Instead of playing golf on Wednesdays with the rest of the officer corps he was probably drawing up his detailed contingency plan in case a coup was needed.

Was watching Spring News this morning and saw a list of another 6 who were transferred to perform "duties at the National Police HQ in Bangkok". They were all city police chiefs. I caught Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Pattaya. The provincial police chief of Chiang Mai has got the axe too. Spring News showed a roomful of senior cops listening the announcements and wincing when they heard the names. Being kicked out of a powerful job like that means that your income suddenly goes down from God knows how many millions of USD per year to your official police salary of about B30k per month. Ha ha.

I think this is only the first wave of Prayuth's night of the long knives but I believe he will do most of it quickly. I read in a management book once that if you need to sack people, it is best to sack them all at once because the shock to the troops of three sackings is not equal to sum of the shock of sacking one a month for three months. I tried this out in management, when I was regrettably forced to fire people and found it to be very true. I think Prayuth has the same idea and also wants to make absolutely clear what is in store for any governemnt officials who fail to toe the line.

What a difference from the aftermath of the 2006 coup!

Yes agree completely - I think a lot of lessons were learned in the after mouth of the 200 coup. The police have been so overt in working with the UDD/Reds, it was a real gamble on their part - one they are feeling the repercussions of not being on the winning side at the end.

I can see army officers being placed as interim police chiefs and the rot to be dug out from the top. The structure is institutionally corrupt and this was the reason everyone said it would not be possible to fix - but by taking the heads now - the only time it is possible - it may well just all crumble away! We may end up with a reasonable police force in a year or so (certainly a lighter one - which wouldn't hurt!)

[wolf5370]

I suspect Thai military intelligence must be a lot better and more connected than most thought. Don't underestimate their abilities.

The problem is, when your supporters are paid, it's only money that they are in it for - they will sing like canaries when caught, there is no moral fibre to do otherwise. Every step they are finding more caches of arms, more bad guys, and getting more and more info. I predict they will soon have a flood, too much info, and will need a special investigations department just to work though it all (IA for the cops).

//Edit: Typos

Edited May 28, 2014 by wolf5370