THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Boonsrang sets agenda for police reform

Boonsrang sets agenda for police reform

New head of panel studying overhaul of force looks overseas to find the best model.

The newly-appointed head of the police reform committee, General Boonsrang Niumpradit has set his sights on promoting transparency, stamping out the sale of police positions, and improving police efficiency based on various overseas models. 
He said the mission was “challenging” and “meaningful”. 
“If the police system is not good, people will be the losers. Through this mission, we can improve the system,” he said yesterday. 
Boonsrang pointed out that a good system, for example, would reduce the problem of police-position-for-sale – which is blamed for corruption and various other problems in society. 
He said that he intended to make it easier to detect irregularities in police transfers and promotions, which would raise the chance of culprits being caught. 
“This way, even those who wish to buy or sell police positions would have to think twice. They would face a higher risk of getting caught and prosecuted,” Boonsrang said. 
He expressed confidence that he was up to the mission, even if he had no direct background in the police force.
“I can study the matter, although I don’t know all the details from the very beginning,” said Boonsrang, who is a former supreme commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces.
According to him, there are case studies from 10 nations for Thailand’s plan to reform its police force. The Hong Kong model has proved to be very effective in fighting corruption. The United States, meanwhile, is outstanding in ensuring that police can usually reach a crime scene within minutes. 
The Boonsrang-headed police reform committee will convene its first meeting today when four subcommittees will be established.
Boonsrang refused to confirm whether members of the general public would be recruited into the sub-committees. 
He said that people could always express their opinions through social media and other methods. 
Yesterday, he accepted a book on a police reform road map from Somsri Harn-anantasuk, who represents the people’s network on police reform.
“We may even set up a subcommittee on opinion-gathering and open a website to make it easier for people to have their voices heard,” he said.
Boonsrang said his committee would meet twice a week until solid progress was made. “Then, we may meet just once a week,” he said. 
He added that his committee would focus on completing its mission within the nine-month timeframe. 
“Our mission would be useful to people and the National Police Office, including its junior policemen,” he said. 
Boonsrang shrugged off criticism that his appointment made it appear that the military was going to overhaul the police force. 
“If you look into the details, you would find that there are just military officers in the committee,” he said. 
Boonsrang also insisted that the government and the National Council for Peace and Order had not given him any special instructions about the mission. 

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