FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Fear of failure is hampering the bombing probe

Fear of failure is hampering the bombing probe

The blame game being played by the police and the BMA is getting us no closer to finding the culprit behind last week's attack

The investigation into the Erawan Shrine bombing on August 17 has led to a dispute between the police and the city administration.
National police chief General Somyot Poompanmuang has said 15 of the 20 cameras between the Ratchaprasong intersection and Silom Road, the route used by the bomber, were out of order. “The footage jumps from one camera to another, and police are having to use their imagination to fill in the gaps. We are spending precious time connecting the dots,” he was quoted as saying.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), which maintains most of the CCTV cameras in question, has rejected the criticism. Of 107 surveillance cameras in the vicinity of the attack, only four were broken, said Vichai Sungprapai, an adviser to the Bangkok governor, on Tuesday. He said that only one of the faulty cameras – at the Ratchaprasong intersection – was on the bomber’s suspected path, a fact unlikely to hamper the investigation.
Vichai, himself a retired senior police officer, also pointed out that the four broken cameras should not be blamed for the police’s failure to catch the bomber. He suggested that they should be looking for other evidence as well.
It is understandable that the police force, and especially its chief, are feeling pressure to find the culprit responsible for Bangkok’s worst-ever bombing attack. More than a week has passed and they have still not been able to identify the culprit’s nationality, let alone a name. The BMA seems a convenient target for blame since it operates most of the surveillance cameras around the scene of the attack.
One question being asked is whether the police are focusing too much on the BMA’s security cameras. Have they unearthed all the footage from security cameras owned by businesses in the area? 
There are also doubts being voiced over whether investigators are doing enough to piece together information from eyewitness accounts in a bid to find the culprit and his accomplices. The police have managed to produce a sketch of the suspect, who is believed to be a foreigner, and an arrest warrant has been issued.
Shortcomings revealed by the investigation suggest it is also time to improve the quality of surveillance cameras operated by state agencies. The quality of the pictures these cameras produce might seem of secondary importance, but the blurry images that have emerged of the suspected bomber demonstrate that clear footage is vital to catching criminals.
Meanwhile, other security cameras around the city should be checked and repaired immediately if found to be faulty. Those that cannot be repaired should be replaced with up-to-date models that can record clear images.  
After such a serious lapse in security, agencies involved in public safety must begin cooperating as a unified force. The government has launched a campaign for solidarity following the Bangkok bombing with the motto: “Our home, our country, together stronger”. However, the dispute between police and the BMA demonstrates that unity is still lacking.
Blaming one another or seeking scapegoats is not the way to go. Doing so only adds to the impression that these agencies are being driven by a fear of failure and are covering up for their own inefficiency in dealing with this crisis.
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