POLICE OVERHAUL LONG OVERDUE

The Next Civilian Government Must Follow Through On Cdrm's
Initiative To Rid National Force Of Corruption

The Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy
(CDRM) yesterday issued an order to replace the Police Commission,
the governing body of police officers, and put into motion
much-needed reforms to de-politicise the Royal Thai Police. This
proposed revamping of the national police force is long
overdue. For too long, the police have been manipulated and used by
corrupt politicians to harass opponents and protect themselves
against prosecution for their wrongdoings. This occurred to such an
extent that widespread corruption among members of the police force
has contributed to weakening the rule of law in the country rather
than enforcing it.

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was known to have used
police and other law enforcement officials to commit crimes,
including human rights violations linked to the controversial war on
drugs, in which some 2,000 suspected drug traffickers were killed
under dubious circumstances.

Findings of police investigations into corruption scandals involving
Thaksin and his corruption-prone cronies were known to have been
altered, or watered down to help them evade prosecution and justice.

Far too many police officers are corrupt because they receive
salaries that are so ridiculously low that they are compelled to
take bribes, if not actually engage in the types of businesses they
are supposed to suppress. That said, it would be simplistic to
suggest that a heavy pay rise would be a cure-all for the
rampant corruption among the force's members. Police corruption is
rooted in the patronage system, a tradition from feudal times that
remains deeply ingrained in virtually all spheres of life in this country.

Police officers regard themselves as an extension of the state
responsible for keeping peace and order rather than acting as public servants.

When it comes to standards of professionalism and public
accountability, neither are widely understood nor generally adhered
to within the police force. This is directly attributable to the
highly centralised hierarchy and excessively long chain of command
of the National Police Bureau, which was modelled on that of the
armed forces.

For practical purposes this means that officers must build their
careers by scaling an organisational ladder through appointments and
transfers to different posts, advancing from smaller assignments and
narrow jurisdictions to positions of greater power.

Such a system effectively removes a sense of accountability to the
public and quashes any motivation officers might have to improve the
way they serve the community. Officers are promoted and rosters
reshuffled with almost no public input, and performance assessments
for officers are mostly perfunctory in nature.

Rather than concerning themselves with public perception, the
officers instead look to their superiors, who hold the power to
recommend them for promotion. It is a system of patronage that goes
from the police rank and file to the very top of the hierarchy.

It is widely known that officers frequently dole out massive bribes
to their bosses in exchange for promotions. The system of patronage
has long been identified as the root of police corruption. But
despite debate on the subject, few moves have been made to improve
the situation.

One way to kick off long overdue changes in the Royal Thai Police
force is to "demilitarise" it by shortening its chain of command.
Police should be made accountable to the public they serve by
answering to elected members of local governments. To further ensure
that police function in the vital capacity they are supposed to,
performance-based assessments should be introduced, a relentless
purge of corrupt officers should take place and internal
investigation mechanisms within the force should be strengthened.

The failure of successive governments to improve the performance and
ethical standards of the police has become a national scandal and
the police continue to be a major engine of corruption. The CDRM
must ensure that the interim civilian government, once it takes
power, puts the reform of the national police force at the top of
its policy priority list and that the goal of reform is vigorously
pursued and achieved within the civilian government's one-year term.
It's time to wipe the slate clean so that when democracy is restored
it will be bolstered by the rule of law, which is better served by a
relatively corruption-free police force.