FOCUS / POLICE REFORM

Aiming for a cleaner image of police

A committee of 28 law enforcement experts is drawing up a proposal on how best to reform the police force

By ANUCHA CHAROENPO

Police. The word has always had a controversial ring to it, even more so these days. Faced with charges of incompetence - as in the still unresolved case of Bangkok's New Year's Eve blasts - corruption and violation of human rights, among others, the police force has now been targeted for reform, which Prime Minister Surayud promises will be done before his term ends.

The main questions are: What will be done, and whether the actions taken will benefit the country, people and the police force itself?

The government-appointed committee on police reform chaired by retired officer Pol Gen Vasit Dejkunchorn has been told to come up with a concrete set of proposals by May this year. The committee is made up of 28 experts in law enforcement.

While defining its theme for reform as "police for the people", the committee will organise a series of seminars nationwide to sound out and gather opinions from people of all social strata.

The information gathered from these seminars will be collated and added to the concluding report, a so-called road map for the reform of the Royal Thai Police, which will be submitted to the prime minister.

The first public hearing seminar was held on Jan 18 at Government House to introduce the reform proposal.

According to Kittipong Kitayarak, deputy permanent secretary for justice and the committee's secretary, the proposal defines several major areas that need to be adjusted in order to improve police work.

"We don't seek to reform the police force because of mismanagement by the previous government. We are doing it because we see that it is time to change, to gain people's faith and trust," Mr Kittipong said.

As former PM Thaksin Shinawatra was once a policeman, he was often accused of using the institution as a base to accumulate his power.

Mr Kittipong cited an Abac Poll result as one of the many justifiable reasons for the revamp of the police institution. He said that more than 70% of the respondents wanted to see police with more integrity, honesty and professionalism. They also expressed their desire to feel safe and secure when contacting police.

The proposal includes:

- Decentralising the police commission to a regional level;

- Establishing a national-level civil committee responsible for policy concerning the police and nine such committees at the regional level. These committees will be independent of one another;

- Establishing an independent committee to take public complaints of police misconduct;

- Safeguarding the police force from political interference;

- Improving the welfare, wage and supervision of lower-ranking officers;

- Transferring missions deemed not essential to the police to other agencies;

- Improving the 1,450 police stations and public security services;

- Improving police skills in investigation to help officers perform their duties efficiently;

- Creating checks-and-balance mechanisms, and

- Enabling public participation in police work.

Mr Kittipong said that the reform would not necessarily reduce the police's "dignity" as inside officers seem to fear. What the reform chiefly seeks, is to solve the problem of political interference and power politics within the law enforcement institution, which has been widespread in the past.

The committee believes it will be able to achieve this through decentralisation of power. Under the reformed structure, local police would be able to manage their budget and transfer of officials without having to request approval from the National Police Office.

Apart from this, Mr Kittipong said, police would receive better welfare and wages from the state, just like officials from the Department of Special Investigation and the Office of the Attorney-General. The higher compensation would help prevent them from seeking bribes and thus reduce corruption, the committee hopes.

Mr Kittipong insisted that despite the poor public perception, the police commission has continuously tried to improve itself. The Royal Thai Police Act 2004, for example, promotes decentralisation and public participation in police affairs. Since it is along the same lines with the committee's reform goal, the latter may use this law as a basis to draft new rules and regulations for police officers, he said.

Atcharaphan Jaratsawat, a lecturer in criminology and justice process at Mahidol University, said that her expectations regarding the reform were mainly that people would be able to receive fair and legitimate treatment whether they were suspects or victims of a crime, apart from the fact that police should be able to carry out their job swiftly, with good knowledge, professional skills and respect for an established code of conduct, of course.

The criminologist, who has been adviser on social policy to former deputy interior minister Pracha Maleenont, suggested that the interim government set up a few model police stations to illustrate what the service would be like after the force is reformed.

The reason is, she does not believe the government will be able to transform all 1,450 police stations across the country to be in tune with the decentralisation policy within the limited time it has.

Niran Pithakwatchara, a former senator from Ubon Ratchathani, who is a leading campaigner against the "police state" allegedly designed by ousted prime minister Thaksin, believed the reform will benefit everyone.

He said if the public were allowed to participate in the administration of the police, as the reform seems to suggest, they could help monitor the officers at work.

With that, the police would no longer dare to carry on illegal activities such as protecting underground lottery, contraband goods trade or gambling dens - activities they have been accused of being involved in at present.

A better checks-and-balance mechanism would also prompt the police to handle cases professionally, without resorting to violent means to obtain confessions.

Wallop Hirikul, chairman of the 70 -rai community in Klong Toey slum in Bangkok, agreed with the government's efforts to decentralise the monolithic National Police Office.

"It's what we want to see most. Klong Toey slum dwellers have wanted good policemen to work in the area for so long. We don't want our local police station to be a place where bad cops end up," Mr Wallop said.

Mr Wallop said giving enough authority to local police stations would be an effective measure to make local police work more efficiently and to bar bad police officers from being transferred around.

The community leader called for quick passage of the proposal within this government's term, as he was unsure if it would get approval or recognition from the next parliament, which would consist of representatives from different political parties.

A police colonel in Bangkok who asked not to be named, said he endorsed the transfer of non-relevant duties from the police to other agencies. If that happened, he said, junior officers would be relieved of a lot of unneccesary burden.

Bangkok Post
Wednesday January 31, 2007