Thai govt to undergo police reform

[webfact]

Govt to undergo police reform

BANGKOK, 27 May 2016 (NNT) - The Ministry of Justice has held a seminar on police reform with an aim to promote a better image of police officers in the eyes of the Thai people.

The seminar was held according to the government’s roadmap, which also emphasizes efficiency of the justice system. This was the 14th iteration of the seminar since its inception.

Former Deputy Police Chief Pol Gen Kraisuk Sinsuk, who also attended the seminar, expressed his support for police reform, which will encourage officers to perform their duties to the people.

Constitution Drafting Commission (CDC) Spokesperson Amorn Wanichwiwat said the reform will only be possible if everyone receives a measure of education on the matter to respect and obey the rule of law.

Meanwhile, National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) Chairman Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasarnratchakij said many of the police officers still lack experience in certain fields. He said this could be resolved by getting support for police education, which will also help prevent corruption.


-- NNT 2016-05-27

[Mook23]

Maybe they can just start with themselves indeed...

Edited May 27, 2016 by Mook23

[Pib]

They've been talking police reform for a long time. I'm not holding my breath for anything major....they will just tinker around the edges.

[clockman]

It will never happen!

[trainman34014]

Good luck to them with that one !!

[brommers]

How laughable to think that they can promote a better image when so much incompetence and corruption is evident to all. But hey the man at the top thinks he can change the attitudes of the nation by flapping his gums and waving his arms for hours per week. The public know that the fish rots from the head down and this applies to the police and all other institutions that are self appointed leaders.

[Pomthai]

Right o.

[jaltsc]

"The Ministry of Justice has held a seminar on police reform with an aim to promote a better image of police officers in the eyes of the Thai people."

Stop It Already with the jokes. Your'e killing me .

Who said there were no comedians in Thailand?

Edited May 27, 2016 by jaltsc

[taony]

I wish they could teach traffic control to at least one of them.

[Captain_Bob]

"aim to promote a better image of police officers in the eyes of the Thai people"

"encourage officers to perform their duties to the people"

Hoorah, it's all about face again, rather than actually doing their jobs well. "Encourage"? Isn't that why they get paid?

TIT ;-)

[nikmar]

Does that mean theyre going to arrest the corrupt monk then.

[leeneeds]

Respecting the rule of law, also involves

enforcing the law

who is going to make sure that happens ?

not in my life time anyway

[phoenixdoglover]

Turd polishing?

[toybits]

Lipstick on a ( self-censored to protect my health and sanity).

[smutcakes]

No point reforming the police until the judiciary is reformed.. that will never happen so there is little point.

Not that there is a police reform plan anyway. In fact the big boss Prawit has already confirmed as much according to news reports.

[colinneil]

Reform the RTP LAUGHABLE ABSOLUTELY LAUGHABLE.

Please do your job, but no more bribes, please help the public.

Serve and protect, not serve only if you give me a back hander.

[ChrisY1]

Just cannot make strawberry jam out of horse s***!

[kotsak]

I guess this was the daily brain fart?

[jamesbrock]

I have been arguing for as long as I remember that nothing short of a complete top-to-bottom reformation of the RTP will begin to solve some of the many problems facing Thailand.

Unless they're planning to do it properly—i.e. decentralising its command structure, and transferring its reporting to the Ministry of Justice, demilitarising its ranks and uniforms, recruiting overseas advisors/trainers, imposing strict ethical guidelines, sacking every single one of the tens of thousands of criminals currently sitting in "inactive posts," and providing a real living wage to officers—they may as well not bother at all.

Do it properly, end political interference and nepotistic postings, give it time to end the endemic corruption in all facets of Thai society and the billions and trillions of baht flowing freely from the public purse, and just maybe Thailand could then attain status of safe, developed nation.

The following is a very interesting article on the subject by Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, a constitutional law scholar in Thailand: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2014/10/06/thai-police-intent-to-reform/

[White Christmas13]

Does that mean theyre going to arrest the corrupt monk then.

Which one you are talking about ?

[BigBadGeordie]

Does that mean theyre going to arrest the corrupt monk then.

Which one you are talking about ?

About 99% of them.

[jamesbrock]

This is another very interesting read on the subject, by Jomdet Trimek, a professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice Administration at Rangsit University, and former Captain in the RTP:

http://rjsh.rsu.ac.th/download/RJSH-Vol1-No2_49-53_Jomdet-Trimek.pdf

[Misterwhisper]

"Meanwhile, National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) Chairman Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasarnratchakij said many of the police officers still lack experience in certain fields."

Well, obviously not in the fields that really count, namely... [drumroll]... bribery, corruption, and graft.

The only way this rotten-to-the-bone police force can ever be reformed is by executing what the Romans so aptly called "tabula rasa", i.e. a clean sweep from top to bottom through the dismissal of literally every single police officer in the country, including the top brass, and no chance for them of ever being able to join the force again.

And this I'm afraid is a task that is practically unfeasible as the country would remain without police for an exceedingly long time while a new force is being recruited and trained from scratch under extremely tight criteria.

[Lingba]

yeah well they can start by convicting and sentencing the young sons of police officers that killed the handicapped man

[WhizBang]

This article is from Not the Nation, right?

[Winniedapu]

Sweet Jesus. there just aren't any words.

W

[jamesbrock]

"Meanwhile, National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) Chairman Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasarnratchakij said many of the police officers still lack experience in certain fields."

Well, obviously not in the fields that really count, namely... [drumroll]... bribery, corruption, and graft.

The only way this rotten-to-the-bone police force can ever be reformed is by executing what the Romans so aptly called "tabula rasa", i.e. a clean sweep from top to bottom through the dismissal of literally every single police officer in the country, including the top brass, and no chance for them of ever being able to join the force again.

And this I'm afraid is a task that is practically unfeasible as the country would remain without police for an exceedingly long time while a new force is being recruited and trained from scratch under extremely tight criteria.

It might appear unfeasible, but it certainly isn't. Many countries have reformed their police forces, the report 'Anti-corruption and police reform' by the Anti-Corruption Resource Centre and Transparency International cites the case of South Africa:

A key personnel issue to consider when reforming the police institution is whether to retain old staff or recruit new personnel. Lessons learnt from South Africa suggests that a combination of both approaches is needed, including the reselection/vetting of police officers that have been involved in corruption and a systematic approach to new recruitment (Bruce, D., 2003).

As part of the process of recruiting new staff, selection procedures and polices are important elements of police reform. Inadequate screening criteria for candidates can result in police officers lacking the skills or incentives to comply with high standards of integrity. In South Africa, for example, police reform included the introduction of a new selection system to raise the calibre of police recruits, with minimum acceptance standards such as minimum level of education and the absence of a criminal record (Newham G., 2002). [source: www.u4.no/publications/anti-corruption-and-police-reform/downloadasset/436]

As far as eliminating police corruption goes, of course it's not going to be a quick fix - it took decades for Singapore to all but eliminate corruption, but it went from a British Colony tolerant of corruption to the 8th least corrupt country in the world, and consistently ranks in the top 10 of least corrupt nations. (An interesting articles on how they did it: http://www.jonstquah.com/images/Police%20Corruption%20Article%20APJPA.pdf). Of course, the British left Singapore with a working system and sound institutions - English laws, a working civil service, and an efficient and honest judiciary, none of which Thailand possesses.

The main take away from all the studies and reports that I've linked to, is that nothing will occur without strong political will. Does Prayuth posses this? I'm yet to be convinced.

Edit: Of course we shouldn't forget the fact that Prayuth recently gave his soldiers unfettered police powers - thereby eliminating the issue of the nation being without a police force while any reformation, including the necessary mass-sackings, takes place.

Edited May 27, 2016 by jamesbrock

[Daryle]

April 1st is long gone boys. A good joke nevertheless!

[Srikcir]

This was the 14th iteration of the seminar since its inception.

You can start police reform by Stopping such useless donut events.

[selftaopath]

"Meanwhile, National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) Chairman Pol Gen Watcharapol Prasarnratchakij said many of the police officers still lack experience in certain fields."

Well, obviously not in the fields that really count, namely... [drumroll]... bribery, corruption, and graft.

The only way this rotten-to-the-bone police force can ever be reformed is by executing what the Romans so aptly called "tabula rasa", i.e. a clean sweep from top to bottom through the dismissal of literally every single police officer in the country, including the top brass, and no chance for them of ever being able to join the force again.

And this I'm afraid is a task that is practically unfeasible as the country would remain without police for an exceedingly long time while a new force is being recruited and trained from scratch under extremely tight criteria.

Would Thailand without a police force be any worse or different than it currently is with the existing force?

Oh I think the "royal" should be dropped from their designation.