NEWS > 18 November 2006

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Nation Multimedia - Bangkok,Th
18 November 2006

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EDITORIAL: Police reform is to

Opportunity must not be missed to transform the force into a people-friendly law enforcement agency

The Surayud government and the Council for National Security (CNS), which came to power through a military coup, must not miss the window of opportunity to overhaul the corruption-prone national police force and subject it to civilian authority before they leave office next year. Elected politicians either have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo or are too fearful to offend the law enforcement agency.

Plans for police reform have been discussed, drawn up and then left to gather dust on the shelf. Successive civilian governments have lacked the political will to vigorously push for a drastic change for the better. Certain politicians are too cynical to forego the chance to manipulate the police force for their own selfish gain. For example, many corrupt politicians hire corrupt police officers to intimidate rivals or bribe them to avoid court action over illegal activities.

The Surayud government and the CNS, which together wield extraordinary political clout, should have no problem dealing with the national police force in an even-handed manner. After all, one of the main reasons cited by the interim government and leaders of the military council as justification for the overthrow of the Thaksin regime was to rid Thai society of corruption.

They owe it to the public to make good on this and other promises.

Prime Minister Surayud earlier this week appointed a 28-member police-reform committee, comprising criminal justice experts and chaired by retired Pol General Vasit Dejkunchorn, widely recognised for his personal integrity and professionalism. This is an encouraging sign that, at long last, a serious attempt is being made to transform the bloated national police force into an efficient law enforcement agency that is accountable to the public.

One proposal to be considered by the police reform committee would break down the monolithic national police force into 9 or 10 separate regional commands, to be overseen by supervisory civilian boards.

Another more drastic proposal calls for the dissolution of the national police force and to subject provincial police forces to the command of provincial governors.

Both proposals are consistent with the master plan being implemented to decentralise government powers. This is part of the effort to improve efficiency by, among other things, shortening government agencies' lines of command and making them accountable to the local people they are supposed to serve.

Any move to restructure the police force must be carried out in tandem with a serious attempt to upgrade professionalism, improve working conditions as well as adjust the remuneration for police officers. For too long, many police officers have been compelled to engage in corrupt practices - such as taking bribes to turn a blind eye to petty crime - to earn supplementary income in order to make ends meet.

Police officers receive salaries that are so ridiculously low. For example, a police sub-lieutenant has a monthly starting salary of less than Bt10,000, while a police private's monthly pay is only slightly higher than the minimum wage for an unskilled labourer.

But it would be simplistic to suggest that a sharp increase in salary would make rampant corruption among the force's members disappear overnight. Police corruption is rooted in the patronage system, a remnant from feudal times that remains deeply ingrained in virtually all spheres of life in this country.

The proposals to break down the cumbersome national police structure make a lot of sense. The highly centralised hierarchy and excessively long chain of command of the Royal Thai Police was modelled on that of the armed forces. That in itself was a shameful legacy of the past, when dictatorial regimes used the police to repress political dissent and control people by turning the country into a police state.

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra tried to turn the clock back and do exactly that. Thaksin, a former police lieutenant colonel, was known to have used the police and other law enforcement officials to commit crimes, including human rights violations linked to the controversial war on drugs, in which thousands of suspected drug traffickers were killed under dubious circumstances.

Failure by the Surayud government and the CNS to implement and accomplish police reform before they leave office will be a regrettable missed opportunity and an unacceptable betrayal of public trust.

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Article sourced from

Nation Multimedia - Bangkok,Th18 November 2006

EDITORIAL: Police reform is to

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Nation Multimedia - Bangkok,Th
18 November 2006