Political will needed now in police reform

He should reform the police force now, for otherwise it will never get done. Rogues have become so omnipresent that the current police chief will pay motorists for turning in rotten police. Not only that, the police are so incompetent that, as at Koh Tao, they allegedly don’t inform suspects of their right to legal aid, and nor did Bangkok send the needed forensic experts to the island. The crime scene became contaminated and procedures evidently were not followed, since the DNA from the victim’s body is no longer touted as the key evidence it should be in a rape case. The cops also refused to allow the defendants to be examined by neutral doctors, which would have gone a long way towards refuting or confirming the defendants’ allegations of torture.

The need for urgent reform has long been recognised by governments, which established the Pol Gen Vasit Dejkhunjon Commission, yet its recommendations have not been implemented due to lack of political will. PM Prayut should ask the NLA to update the Vasit Commission’s recommendations, such as boosting police compensation, monitoring police performance and community relations through an independent committee of complaints, and reorganising operations at the station level to be more autonomous, problem-focused, and community-oriented. The legal framework should be in place before a new crop of politicians is elected, to minimise political influence and give us a force that is clean and competent.

Burin Kantabutra