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| NEWS > 23 September 2006 |
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The Nation
23 September 2006
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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.
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