Reform of the police force must serve people
Afresh “police reform” has recently been proposed by a special committee under the joint whip of the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) and the National Legislative Assembly (NLA). It, however, has drawn opposition from people’s organisations who criticise the proposal for lacking concrete structural reforms.
The need to revamp the Royal Thai Police (RTP) has been an ongoing issue for over a decade. Calls for police reform have taken place since the days of Thaksin Shinawatra who was the first policeman to become prime minister.
Although Thaksin was sympathetic to the police force, his administrations did not implement any major reform programmes.
During the protests against the Yingluck Shinawatra government in 2014-15, the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) also called for police reform. While PDRC propaganda was designed to discredit elected politicians, it was in sync with public feelings that politicians had meddled in the annual reshuffling of police officers to build support for their political bases.
The military government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha carries on with the same rhetoric. So far it has nothing new to show.
The RTP reports directly to the prime minister. Legally, the prime minister chairs the National Police Commission — although most of the time he or she can delegate the job to the deputy prime minister in charge of national security. At present, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon handles the matter.
The latest proposal of the subcommittee under the NRSA and the NLA aims to move the direct supervision of the police force from the prime minister to the minister of justice. Under the present authoritarian government, no less than previously elected ones, rumours of interference in police officers’ appointments abound.
The last major overhaul of the police force in Thailand occurred in 1998 when the Police Department was separated from the Ministry of Interior and was established as a legal entity at the national level.
Revamping the police force cannot be done by merely shifting the agency around. The reason for moving it out of the Ministry of Interior in the past was to reduce the ministry’s centralised power. Running the civil apparatus from provincial governors down was cumbersome enough. The ministry then was also too powerful where the spoils of the interior portfolio created vast favouritism.
The prime minister with direct control over the police force thus holds political leverage over other ministers, especially in a coalition government.
The latest proposal to bring the police under the control of the Ministry of Justice is to consolidate the judicial process. It, however, will make the justice portfolio all-out powerful as it will have both the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the police under its wing. The hidden agenda of such a change is the vision of creating a “Homeland Security” type of ministry.
Either under the current structure or the proposed model, the police will remain under the centralised control version of Thai bureaucracy. And this is the crux of the problem.
To say that the police in general are corrupt would be unfair to all policemen (and women). There are many good and honest people in the force who are proud of their job. They directly work with the community in the districts they serve. The lower-ranking ones tend to stay put, as they try hard to build their career, before retiring at the police station. The appointed police officers of higher ranks come and go, striving for better positions and stations. A lot are well loved and respected by the communities they work for.
However, they are all underpaid. They have to buy their own guns, bullets and
communication radios. Their welfare is minimal. The state housing compounds provided for them are cramped in apartment lots behind the stations. Wives of low-ranking policemen earn extra household income by selling food and goods in markets.
So, no matter how much integrity and idealism one has, along the way many of them succumb to bribery, extortion and other illegal activities. Cases of influential individuals are easily buried. Extra-judicial killings are common and usually no one is held accountable.
The centralised structure and the multi-dimensions of the job make the RTP a large bureaucracy without accountability and without a proper checks-and-balances mechanism. There are more than 220,000 personnel in the force. Annual reshuffles and appointments have turned into open season for lobbying and favour exchanging, with rumours of money being asked for and offered, depending on the potential lucrativeness of the lobbied position.
The National Police Commission has the last word on the officers’ appointments but de jure and de facto, it has supervision and control of everyone. Yes, it is one man running 220,000-plus armed personnel among the general population. It is an impossible task for one to do a thorough job. It is full of loopholes and prone to corruption and abuses of power.
Reforming the police is indeed needed and there are a number of things that I think can be done.
First, there is the need to decentralise the system. Local police forces should directly report to local governments. Provincial governors should have the authority to hire or fire policemen serving at the provincial level. Community oversight should be enabled and done through elected local legislative bodies. To make this possible, the overall supervision of the police should return to the Ministry of Interior. Cities with special laws like Bangkok or Pattaya can run their own police work.
Second, the DSI can act as a checks-and-balances mechanism at the national level but its top post needs to have equal power to that of the RTP’s Commissioner General. At the other end, the RTP runs the Crime Suppression Division, which should be upgraded to also counter irregularities in the police force at the local and provincial levels. Regional police commanders should report directly to the commissioner.
Those who hold all the top jobs must make their asset declarations public. Appointed by the government, their
positions should be approved by the Senate as this can strengthen parliamentary oversight of the police.
Third, other units whose functions can be overseen by other bodies, such as those responsible for traffic control, should be separated from the RTP. These functions require a different set of skills that go beyond crime busting. When separated, these forces should not be underfunded like the fire and rescue departments.
Fourth, it is about time to raise salaries. This is one thing I agree with in the latest proposal. The pay rises will, however, never be comparable to the workload of policemen. And they will always be much lower than the monetary inducements for wrongdoing. Thus, punishment for bribery, acts of favouritism, buying of positions and the like must be strict and harsh. A special branch of the National Counter Corruption Commission should be set up to handle police corruption cases.
Finally, the integrity of the police is essential. A renewed institutional culture must be developed. Promotion must be based on merit, not patronage or nepotism. The law must be upheld by law enforcers.
It is the public they must serve, not political masters, democratically elected or authoritarian ones.
Revamping the police force cannot be done by merely shifting the agency around.
Suranand Vejjajiva was secretary-general to the prime minister during the Yingluck Shinawatra government and is now a political analyst.