Restraint of political influence aim in reforms mooted for police force

They include transforming Royal Thai Police into a new ministry where police officers themselves could decide on the reshuffle of key positions – a fresh policy aimed at eliminating outside or political interference, according to a senior policeman tasked with processing the reform.

The new ministry would be led by a national commandant, and consist of a national inspector-general and a deputy, four deputy national commanders, and five assistant national commanders. The deputies and the assistants would have the rank of lieutenant-generals, instead of generals as at present, said Pol Lt-General Damrongsak Kittipraphas, commissioner of the police Office of Human Resources.

Authority in police investigations would be more independent under a new national structure called the National Investigation Board chaired by a police general. The board would comprise regional, provincial and district offices.

Another change considered unique is that the transformation of the police bureau would heed feedback from the public over key issues – a proposal the officer said was made to reflect on how the reform would best benefit the general community.

Needs of the public would be considered a priority, Damrongsak said. He said a recent session at the Royal Police Cadet Academy heard opinions from participants, who were mostly policemen supporting the reform, saying they wanted to be free from political interference or favouritism.

The RTP is organising brainstorming sessions aimed at gathering feedback from police and the public throughout the country. Reformers would need to hear from people on the job to find out how they would be affected, or how members of the public would best be served.

For example, to transfer the Railway Police Division to the State Railway of Thailand, it would need to be clear how the SRT was preparing to handle the takeover, he said.

Problems arising for the public would also need to be seen, and whether the takeovers would make services better, he said.

Damrongsak said feedback from the public would be further welcomed before the final proposal was concluded by the police department and later submitted to the government, by next month. 

The proposals would then be processed further through the National Reform Council and the National Legislative Assembly.

The officer did not say why the national and independent RTP would be centralised into a ministry under a reform he was proposing. A ministry is run by a cabinet through executive power, whereas the reform’s main objective is to keep it free from political interference.