Police reform should benefit the people

Police reform should benefit the people.

DATELINE BANGKOK

Daily News Editorial : There has been much talk about reforming the national police force, but no conclusion has been reached about how it should be done. A working committee chaired by retired Pol Gen Vasit Dejkunchorn has suggested that the Royal Thai Police Office (RTPO) should be restructured to enable policemen to work more closely with people in communities across the country.

For example, the Metropolitan Police may come under the governor of Bangkok, and the provincial police under the provincial governor. Civic groups and people's representatives may sit on committees tasked with monitoring the work of police.

The suggestion, however, was strongly criticised by the RTPO spokesman, who said local organisations are not trained to handle police work, which involves arresting suspects and interrogating them. After the interrogation is done, police investigators must decide whether to submit the cases to the public prosecutor.

The Vasit committee, however, argued that the job of interrogating suspects should be handled by another group of officials to ensure fairness for the suspect. This responsibility may come under the Department of Special Investigation of the Justice Ministry.

At the provincial level, the current structure of the Committee to Supervise Police Administration (CSPA) must be revised for greater transparency and efficiency. In this respect, the Vasit committee proposed that the CSPA be headed by the deputy governor, who is assisted by the provincial police commander, public prosecutor, city clerk, head of the provincial lawyers council and three people's representatives.

It remains to be seen how the proposed police reform will proceed. Whatever the outcome, it must be aimed at benefiting the public.

Bangkok Post
Thursday January 11, 2007