We need a nationwide whistle-blowing scheme
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Thai officials of any agency are apparently unfamiliar with an old phrase not limited to law enforcement - "protect and serve". Attention to a longstanding problem, sometimes years after the fact, is rarely the result of a "policing agency" but comes main
Citizens have many reasons to fear alerting law enforcers about wrongdoing – who knows if the person taking the report is involved in the complaint?
Years ago, several countries launched “whistle-blowing” agencies where citizens can report crimes anonymously via untraceable phone numbers. Good information often carries a reward. This programme carried over to business misdemeanours (chemical dumping, contamination, etc) with much success. Citizens blew the whistle on illegal business practices, resulting in huge fines for the miscreants, which went to pay the relatively small cost of the whistle-blowing programme.
Would The Nation consider spearheading such a programme for Thailand?
Don Aleman
Bangkok
