Thai police urged to stop parading suspects at press conferences

[Classic Ray]

UK senior police are highly trained in press and media management. It is extremely easy to be manipulated  by the media and end up saying all the wrong things.

 

The UK approach is to realize the police need a relationship with the press to use their power in cases like missing persons or hunts for suspects, but for the police to always be in charge of that relationship. Press conferences are tightly controlled, usually by the force's professional communications manager, not like the dog and pony show here. Re enactments involving suspects are rare and never publicized, but are instead carried out by professional actors on programmes like Crimewatch, although CCTV from the actual incidents may be used. The Thai police have a lot to learn, but of course their motivation is different here.

[Gandtee]

It would seem that the Royal Thai Police are snubbing their noses at Gen Prayut's order to stop this circus. Why has he kept quiet and not handed out a bit of attitude adjustment?

[darksidedog]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

 

A different point, police who are trained investigators know how to structure, strategize their questions, put them in a certain order and often this will bring responses which generate deeper details, clues, trick the suspect into revealing valuable points etc., etc.

 

Surely letting the media jump in at the start of the inquiry with uncontrolled questions could destroy all of the above?

This would be a good point if it were not Thailand. Thai police on the whole do not investigate. They don't know how to. They collect the complaint, arrest the person accused and pass the information they have to the prosecutor. They do not check alibis, or any other aspect of the crime after the arrest, with the occasional exception of a beating, if they want to arrest other people too, and think you have that information.

The police like to have the media involved. The publicity tends to make people think the suspect is guilty, especially since ONLY the allegation is read out, not the defendants side of the story. And they get to show off their badges.

[YetAnother]

thais are very often not considerate people and this practice is consistent

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Moreover, a National Police Office order prohibits police from bringing suspects, alleged victims or witnesses to press conferences, except in cases where their presence was considered useful to the public and supervisors had given permission.

 

Regardless, those orders have been largely ignored.

Says it all, really. The police breaking their own rule. Make a rule, then ignore it. Same as every other rule/law in Thailand. Which is exactly why no-one takes any notice of any of them.

[pentap]

Fickle once again.

Make a rule or decision and then change it, then revert back to it,
or change what has already been changed and so on...


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[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, humqdpf said:

the Americans like to do the "perp walk" too, which amounts to almost the same thing

Not exactly.

Suspects are led off in handcuffs into or out of court rooms or police facilities. Perp walks, while allowed under the Fourth Amendment, should only be used for necessary law enforcement purposes.

http://www.npr.org/2011/07/07/137681216/perp-walk-the-history-of-parading-suspects

 

There are legitimate reasons for a perp walk. If a defendant may have committed other crimes, police might want to broadcast his name and face to get other victims (or witnesses) to come forward. A prosecutor may also opt for a perp walk if a suspect is considered a flight risk.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2011/05/walk_the_walk.html

 

As far as clothing the perp in a jailhouse uniform when taken into the public, can you give some examples? I find that even the most notorious suspects have been afforded civilian wear during the perp walk such as mafia dons and assassins, Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh, Charles Mason and Bernie Madoff.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/infamous-perp-walks-gallery-1.17455?pmSlide=1.13733

 

While a perp walk can be abused, there can be conjunctive negative consequences for the prosecutor that can potentially weaken or void the arrest or prosecution in a trial that is typically judged by a jury- a judicial process not present or found often in Thai justice system.

[realenglish1]

This is only about Name and Shame and nothing else 

 

It should be stopped 

[Saladin]

The police and military should not be 'urged' to stop parading suspects. They should be 'ordered' to stop the practice or else.

[bangkokairportlink]

7 hours ago, darksidedog said:

The media actually don't report from court at all, apart from very big cases, so very few acquittals are reported.

I have seen many people over the years have their name and photo plastered on the papers and then be found not guilty, but continue to be harassed by others who don't know the verdict.

And as for the police, if they spent half as much time actually doing police work as they do preening themselves for the conference, crime rates would plummet.

 

This is what I call journashit.

 

 

[hotchilli]

She said her agency planned to investigate related human rights violations.

“Don’t forget that suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty,” she said.

 

Unless you're a farang, then you're guilty until you can prove your innocence!!

[Reigntax]

There will be no more pointing?

[candide]

This is bad but only the outcome of a criticable whole process. The persons who are paraded have often been questioned without the presence of a lawyer, have been beaten, etc... not to mention the new ways introduced by the Junta....

[Mosha]

Who are they going to point at?

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[Dap]

LOL!! First "They" were "ordered" now "they" are "urged".

[Jonmarleesco]

Can't deny the RTP their occasional 15 minutes of fame. But if the hoi polloi are disobeying an order from the very top, and it is now public knowledge, there is going to need to be some face-saving action from the top down.

[Jonmarleesco]

8 hours ago, hotchilli said:

She said her agency planned to investigate related human rights violations.

“Don’t forget that suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty,” she said.

 

Unless you're a farang, then you're guilty until you can prove your innocence!!

Or a Burmese, when you're guilty, even if you can prove your innocence.