Royal Thai Police deputy chief Pol General Pongsapat Pongcharoen disclosed yesterday that moves to tackle corruption in the appointment of officers and improvement in police performance were part of the 10-point police reform plan. He went on to say that the bureau urgently needed reform to be implemented within the timeframe in line with government policy.

Since problems related to police often make the headlines, Pongsapat said the bureau would undergo major reform related to human resource management, duty distribution, improved investigation and law enforcement, wage and welfare, equipment procurement, corruption prevention, public participation, forensic science management, police training and duty screening.

“Reform on each point should move forward at the same time, and if any officers are found unable to implement reform, they will be subjected to disciplinary investigation and removed from the post if necessary,” he said.

“This is to ensure that police reform, which is an important government policy, is achieved within the timeframe.”

As for widespread corruption and the selling of police ranks, Pongsapat said that nobody from the police department was ignoring this issue and that it had been included in the human-resource management reform.

“A new law on police appointment has been in effect since last Saturday. It makes the police appointment procedure much clearer and hence, solves the problem,” he said.

When asked about the progress made in improving local police, he said each police station was adequately staffed and ready to deal with different cases.

He added that every police station was encouraged to ensure swift and just investigation, while commanders have been told to closely monitor their subordinates’ work in order to prevent errors, which may affect the reputation of the department.