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StrontiumDog

Phuket NEWS:

‘White Police’ to change Thai police culture

Phuket Gazette - Wednesday, February 20, 2013 414 PM


Commander Amarin Akaravong from the Office of Inspector General (left), followed by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavalviwat reviewed Phuket police yesterday. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong


PHUKET: Members of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) arrived on Phuket as part of the launch of a nationwide program designed to oust crooked police officers and slowly change police culture in Thailand.

Each of the 1,460 police stations across Thailand will have 10 of its officers selected this year to help gather information about the behavior of police officers and the station’s actions as a whole.

“The officers will be selected at the end of every year and receive the honor of becoming ‘White Police’. Another 10 will be selected next year. Eventually, we will be able to change police culture for the better, and bad police officers will not be able to function within the ‘White Police’ organizations,” said Commander Amarin Akaravong from the Office of Inspector General.

The OIG is in charge of police stations across the country, Pol Gen Amarin explained.

“We have to pay more attention to the performance and behavior of our officers. We have heard that some police officers have even become drug dealers, which is painful to find out.

“The public has shown more and more concern with how police are behaving – we can see this from the number of complaints about police acting inappropriately that are being filed with us,” Pol Gen Amarin stated.

He made it clear that the goal of his visit to the island was to see whether or not the police of Phuket were adequately fulfilling the needs of the people, especially tourists.

__________________
"Slavery is the daughter of darkness; an ignorant people is the blind instrument of its own destruction; ambition and intrigue take advantage of the credulity and inexperience of men who have no political, economic or civil knowledge. They mistake pure illusion for reality, license for freedom, treason for patriotism, vengeance for justice."-Simón Bolívar

hazz

I wonder how much they will charge candidates to get promoted into the ranks of the 'white' police.

Mid

Hazz has basically beat me too it , whilst they have to pay for their own uniform and weapon etc this is little more than window dressing

Albert Shagnastier

This is a very disturbing trend.

Only a few days ago I was pulled over for using an overpass. After a grin, an apology and 100bt I was confronted with

"Cannot. Have to go pay 400bt at police station"

Expensive and inconvenient.

nidhogg

Nothing. Check the article. My turn this year, your turn next year. SOP Thailand.

Rocksteady

Of course, white policemen will revert back to tomatoes (Bib) after their year so if they actually shop any of their comrades at their station for the hijinks they get up to, they will obviously face payback!

I imagine we won't hear a peep from anyone

Butterfly

I agree, this is why small corruptions should be encouraged, not discouraged

as usual, they are going for the small guys, not the big ones

Thetyim

And then they can declare the BiB as 100% corruption free

hazz

Given that it looks like, from my reading, that Office of Inspector General will do the selecting and that those selected will be responsible for gathering information about the behavior of police officers and the station’s actions as a whole.

Seems to me that there is an opportunity for the selected officers to generate extra income by taking bribes to send back glowing reports rather than the awful truth. That makes the selection worth money and worth paying for..... just like every other position within the thai police. Ive been told by someone who should know that in the early 90's it was 5M baht to go from cornel to general.

Rocksteady

^Too true, though you refer to upward mobility in a career where as this is only a temporary position to which you would be replaced by a colleage when your year is up and then returned to the general population (where you may have to face those you dobbed in/blackmailed)

woolyback

wtf lmao

the dogcatcher

Shouldn't this be in the jokes forum?

StrontiumDog

Yeah, the police are going to report on the police, to the police.

Yeah, I can see how that will solve all the problems

BobR

It's daft to trying to reform corruption while the salaries are so low an officer could not live on it.
The first step should be raising police salaries to the level at which an officer would be a fool to risk his job for a few hundred Baht.
That's why police corruption is so rare in the West, California cops now average over $100k a year with a pension plan that allows them to retire at half pay in their 50's. Who in his right mind would risk that for petty corruption.

Albert Shagnastier

^
Chai laeo

TizMe

The second step would be to come down hard on those cops that are also criminals, rather than just move them to an inactive post.

StrontiumDog

^ Yeah, well there wont be many police left then...

Believe it.

Albert Shagnastier

step by step chaps, step by step.

nidhogg

...almost certainly from a list of names submitted from the particular station.....

VocalNeal

Same philosophy as Members of Parliament in Singapore.

bash street gang

These 'white police' will have to tell 'white lies' for their own safety.

prairieboy

[quote="StrontiumDog"] slowly change police culture in Thailand.]

Slowly being the operative word!

hazz

it will be interesting to find out which one of us is right; as it will answer that age old question about honour amongst thieves.