REFORMING THE POLICE

Life talks with someone who truly knows about the changes that need to occur within the departments

Pol Cpl Somchai’s* bouts with depression began the day he was transferred from his hometown to an investigation unit in another province.

From being the life of the party, he became withdrawn. Barely a month into his new position, they found him with a self-inflicted gun wound to his head. He left a suicide note describing the immense pressure he was in at his new job.

In another circumstance, when Jean* was physically abused by her husband for the first time, she decided to report it to the police. However, when she reached the police station, the officer in charge wasn’t the least interested in taking down her complaint, telling her that it would be better for her to settle her personal problems in the confines of her home than have outside intervention. Jean had no other resources and had to go back to her dysfunctional marriage. Police suicides and police apathy are two of astri ng of issues highlighting a dire need for constructive police reforms withinthe Royal Thai Police for some time. Rangsit University’s Assoc Prof Pol Lt Col Krisanaphong Poothakool, who worked in law enforcement for 26 years and had a short stint at the National Reform Council for police reform, knows all too well just why the situbad ation of police reform is going from to worse, as he puts it. Krisanaphong, who is also a qualified crimipolice nologist, recalled hisquest to see reform goesback to the time he first became an officer. “I have always wanted to see police reform becausethe goal of a policeofficer is to catch bad guys. However, in reality, I found it very difficult to successfully reachthat aim because of a handful of reasons.

“In a nutshell, I found issues arising from not just the laws we have but also my super officers visors andthe police culture new find them selvesin. These factors created hurof dles for me to accomplish my goal catching criminals.” So where does Thailand stand on the issue of police reform? “To be honest, I believe we havKrisanaphong. en’t even started ,” commented In recent years, he added, the country had acouple of police reform committees, which unfortunately did not amount to much when the recommendations made were not tangibly utilised. “We hear that police reform is on go happening,” ing, but in practice, nothing is he said. Unlike developed countries where peodecision ple’s voice plays an integral part in making, Kris a nap hong said, in Thailand the Royal Thai Police is under the prime minister’s office, which means that the public voice is basically of no consequence. Police reform has become an issue in many countries, including Thailand, because govforce ernment leaders are using the police as a political tool to enforce the law not for the public benefit, but their own.

“British police for centuries have been using the ‘policing by consent’ philosophy. Developed countries realise the need for the public to voice the direction they want to see their police force take so their needs are met,” said Krisanaphong, also a national consultant with the UN Office on drugs and crime.

“In Thailand, command from the prime minister’s office comes to the national police chief, who then orders senior law enforcement throughout the country.” Krisanaphong said the faster decision makers realise that current policing is a shambles, resulting in a steep increase in criminal activity — especially relating to cyber security and record low public acceptance — the faster reform can occur.

Today police morale and emotional health have hit rock bottom, he said, because of a number of factors, including botched policy-making when it comes to their career path that doesn’t take into consideration the officer’s needs and desires. For some, the stress drives them to even contemplate suicide. Krisanaphong said that he would like to see the government provide law enforcement with better protective gear, equipment and gadgets, to conduct their duty without having to fear for their own safety. Despite the numerous odds set against police reform, it is high time a clear cut plan be devised to make inroads, Krisanaphong said, which could begin with setting a time frame, three phases lasting one, three and five years.

Upon the completion of each phase, he suggests an evaluation should be made to gauge the progress made.

When asked what particular reforms were needed to address issues of police suicide and corruption, he said: “We have to go back to the basics, our police force needs full support from the government to do their work efficiently. As I mentioned earlier, Thai law-enforcement officers are suffering from an acute shortage of basic equipment for police work. We need to work on providing this for them. “Secondly, the police structure needs to change. Today, senior police officers and our government authority seem to favour the idea of centralisation of power. However, in developed countries the police force has been decentralised. That means police have to work closely with the public. In my opinion, this benefits society as a whole, impacting crime prevention and crime suppression. “Thirdly, the structure used to monitor police movement, which includes everything from the career path of police officers to transfers and promotions, should have greater public involvement. In this manner, officers will see the importance of engaging themselves better within communities they have been assigned to protect. In short, they will see the need to keep them happy.”

*not their real names

Police suicides and police apathy are two of a string of issues