FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Police preparations in top gear for Songkran

Police preparations in top gear for Songkran

The Royal Thai Police (RTP) has launched various safety and security measures, including a vacation home-watch scheme, for the upcoming Songkran holidays. Among the measures are preparedness of the Bangkok-based 191 Emergency Call Centre (Phanfa), which is in the process of being upgraded to a national-level centre linking related agencies to ensure help arrives within 10 minutes of a call.

National police deputy commissioner Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakan yesterday invited the public to register their homes with the RTP’s vacation home-watch scheme during the Songkran holiday period. He was inspecting the scheme’s area in Bangkok’s Min Buri district, including the home of actress Khemanit “Pancake” Jamikorn. 

Police preparations in top gear for Songkran
He said that considering the scheme last Songkran saw 5,871 homes registered for more-frequent police patrolling while the owners went on vacation, he was hopeful of even more homes being registered this year. 
Chalermkiat said police would scan the QR code on the “red box” to record their patrol rounds, besides the usual practice of contacting homeowners for updates via the Line chat and the smartphone application “Police I Lert U”. 

Police preparations in top gear for Songkran
Each district has 5-6 zones, with 10-12 QR coded red boxes. He urged homeowners to help prevent crime by installing security cameras in their houses if possible.
Meanwhile, national police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda checked on the progress in upgrading the Phanfa centre to a national-level centre in keeping with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s policy to facilitate distress calls as well as the timely dispatch of assistance. 

Police preparations in top gear for Songkran
Chakthip said he was briefed about the Phanfa centre’s current operations and issues. The obstacles included the over-100,000 prank calls made to the centre every year; the out-of-date C31 system that was has been used since 2000 (officers now use their personal smartphones to help pinpoint emergency locations); and lack of familiarity with surroundings by the centre’s police officers, which resulted in delays.
The recruitment of retired police officers with familiarity and working experience in the respective areas was proposed as a solution, he added.
Chakthip said the centre’s upgrade – which would materialise in 2-3 years and let all distress calls to go through the single hotline number of 191 – would apply modern technology, including multiple complaint-gathering channels, a more-precise positioning system, video calls with multiple related officials, and an operation control system. 

Police preparations in top gear for Songkran
Tourist Police deputy chief Maj-General Surachet Hakpan concurred with the idea, as it would make the country’s current 50 emergency hotline numbers – which caused confusion and inconvenience to the public – into one number: 191. 
Meanwhile, Pol Maj-General Jirapat Phumjit, the city’s deputy police chief in charge of traffic, has instructed officers at 88 precincts to strictly enforce traffic laws, especially against those who violated the top five traffic offences: speeding, drunk driving, failing to wear a safety helmet, failing to present a driver’s licence, and failing to wear a seat belt. 

Police preparations in top gear for Songkran
He said the Songkran seven-day period of accident monitoring from April 11-18 would see police checkpoints screen for drunk drivers and other law-violating motorists all over Bangkok, while police would join transport authorities to conduct sobriety tests of bus and public transport drivers from April 3-11.

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