Royal Thai Police
Encyclopedia
The Royal Thai Police are the national police
of Thailand
.
The formal functions of the TNPD included more than the enforcement of laws and apprehension of offenders. The department also played an important role in the government's efforts to suppress the remnants of the insurgency. In the event of an invasion by external forces, much of the police force would come under the control of the Ministry of Defense to serve with, but not be incorporated into, the military forces.
Originally modeled on the pre-World War II national police force of Japan, the TNPD was reorganized several times to meet changing public order and internal security needs. American advice, training, and equipment, which were provided from 1951 through the early 1970s, did much to introduce new law enforcement concepts and practices and to aid in the modernization of the TNPD. During this era the strength and effectiveness of the police grew steadily.
All components of the police system were administered by the TNPD headquarters in Bangkok, which also provided technical support for law enforcement activities throughout the kingdom (see fig. 20). The major operational units of the force were the Provincial Police, the Border Patrol Police (BPP), the Metropolitan Police, and smaller specialized units supervised by the Central Investigation Bureau.
In mid-1987 the total strength of the TNPD, including administrative and support personnel, was estimated at roughly 110,000. Of this number, over one-half were assigned to the Provincial Police and some 40,000 to the BPP. More than 10,000 served in the Metropolitan Police. Quasi-military in character, the TNPD was headed by a director general, who held the rank of police general. He was assisted by three deputy directors general and five assistant directors general, all of whom held the rank of police lieutenant general. Throughout the TNPD system, all ranks except the lowest (constable) corresponded to those of the army. The proliferation of high ranks in the TNPD organizational structure, as in the military, indicated the political impact of the police on national life.
The Thai
police are subdivided into several region
s and services, each enjoying their own powers.
The Provincial Police formed the largest of the TNPD operational components in both manpower and geographic responsibility. It was headed by a commander, who reported to the director general of the TNPD, and administered through four police regions—geographic areas of responsibility similar to those of the army regional commands. This force provided police services to every town and village throughout the kingdom except metropolitan Bangkok and border areas. The Provincial Police thus handled law enforcement activities and in many cases was the principal representative of the central government's authority in much of the country.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, as the police assumed an increasing role in counterinsurgency operations, a lack of coordination among security forces operating in the rural areas became apparent. Observers noted that the overall police effort suffered because of conflicting organizational patterns and the highly centralized control system that required decisions on most matters to emanate from the various police bureaus of TNPD headquarters in Bangkok.
A reorganization of the TNPD in 1978 and 1979 gave more command authority to the four police lieutenant generals who served as regional commissioners of the Provincial Police. Thereafter, the senior officers of each region not only controlled all provincial police assigned to their respective geographic areas but also directed the railroad, highway, marine, and forestry police units operating there, without going through the chain of command to the Central Investigation Bureau in Bangkok. Although this change increased the workload of the four regional headquarters, it resulted in greater efficiency and improved law enforcement.
Divided into 9 regions covering the 75 Provinces of Thailand
except metropolitan Bangkok and the border areas:
The bureau also supervised a number of sites established and staffed by the BPP to train its field platoons in counterinsurgency operations. These sites included a large national facility at Hua Hin and smaller facilities in Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Chiang Mai, and Songkhla.
In addition to covering the city with foot patrols, the Metropolitan Police maintained motorized units, a canine corps, building guards, traffic-control specialists, and law enforcement personnel trained to deal with juvenile problems. The Traffic Police Division also provided mounted escorts and guards of honor for the king and visiting dignitaries and served as a riotcontrol force to prevent unlawful demonstrations and to disperse unruly crowds within the capital city.
have been accused of corruption, and over-reaction by tourist to the island. In one case an Australian woman was arrested and accused of stealing a bar mat. She spent four nights in jail and had her passport
confiscated. Then she faced a wait of another 14 weeks on bail
until the next phase of her prosecution. This is despite a friend of her confessing to the police and providing a sworn statement that she had placed the bar mat in the woman's bag as a joke.
Eventually the case was resolved after the intervention of governor of Phuket, Wichai Praisa-nob, after being contacted by Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and the Foreign Ministry. A deal was done under which she would plead guilty, she would be fined, and governor Wichai Praisa-nob would pay the fine and give an apology. After this her passport was returned and she was allowed to return to Australia.
In another case an American couple were arrested upon returning to Thailand and accused of being responsible of burning down a house in which they resided on a previous stay at Phuket. The fire had previously been investigated and found to have been caused by an electrical fault. To recover their passports and being allowed to depart Thailand they had to compensate the house owner and make under the table payments to the judges, the public prosecutor, everyone down to the bailiffs in the court. This cost then around 45,000 US dollars.
In 2007 a 15 year old Danish boy was involved in an insurance fraud when a Chinese couple threw themselves under his Jetboat
killing one of them. While the court ruled the incident as an accident, the police detained the boy and held his passport until an amount of 300,000 DKK had been paid so the case could be settled within weeks.
The conduct of the local police in Pai, and Thai drug enforcement, has also generated an unusual amount of controversy over the past decade. This is partially due to the proximity of Pai
to drug routes from the Shan State in Burma, however given the post-2000 rise in incidents involving foreign tourists, it is evident that other factors are also at work.
Police corruption remains a problem in Thailand. Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2007, a survey assessing the public's perceptions and experience of corruption in 60 countries, states that, for Thailand, the police received a rating of four out of five, where one represents "not at all corrupt" and five represents "extremely corrupt" (6 Dec. 2007, 22).
Review by Thai Media Project
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
About
Primary responsibility for the maintenance of public order through enforcement of the kingdom's laws was exercised by the Thailand National Police Department (TNPD), a subdivision of the Ministry of Interior. Charged with performing police functions throughout the entire country, the TNPD was a unitary agency whose power and influence in Thai national life had at times rivaled that of the army.The formal functions of the TNPD included more than the enforcement of laws and apprehension of offenders. The department also played an important role in the government's efforts to suppress the remnants of the insurgency. In the event of an invasion by external forces, much of the police force would come under the control of the Ministry of Defense to serve with, but not be incorporated into, the military forces.
Originally modeled on the pre-World War II national police force of Japan, the TNPD was reorganized several times to meet changing public order and internal security needs. American advice, training, and equipment, which were provided from 1951 through the early 1970s, did much to introduce new law enforcement concepts and practices and to aid in the modernization of the TNPD. During this era the strength and effectiveness of the police grew steadily.
All components of the police system were administered by the TNPD headquarters in Bangkok, which also provided technical support for law enforcement activities throughout the kingdom (see fig. 20). The major operational units of the force were the Provincial Police, the Border Patrol Police (BPP), the Metropolitan Police, and smaller specialized units supervised by the Central Investigation Bureau.
In mid-1987 the total strength of the TNPD, including administrative and support personnel, was estimated at roughly 110,000. Of this number, over one-half were assigned to the Provincial Police and some 40,000 to the BPP. More than 10,000 served in the Metropolitan Police. Quasi-military in character, the TNPD was headed by a director general, who held the rank of police general. He was assisted by three deputy directors general and five assistant directors general, all of whom held the rank of police lieutenant general. Throughout the TNPD system, all ranks except the lowest (constable) corresponded to those of the army. The proliferation of high ranks in the TNPD organizational structure, as in the military, indicated the political impact of the police on national life.
Police Organization
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
police are subdivided into several region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
s and services, each enjoying their own powers.
- Royal Thai Police Headquarters - BangkokBangkokBangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
- Director-GeneralDirector-generalThe term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...
of Police
- Director-General
- Border Patrol Police Division 40,000 paramilitary force
- BPP General Staff Division
- BPP Tactical Training Division
- BPP Support Division
- BPP Nawut Sondetya Hospital
- BPP Village Scout Center
- BPP Counter-Insurgency Training Center
- BPP Districts 1 through 4
- Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU)
- Airborne Training
- Naresuan 261 Counter-Terrorism UnitNaresuan 261 Counter-Terrorism Unit-History:Special Operations Unit "Naraesuan 261" was set up in 1983, Buddhist year 2526, by a Thai Cabinet Resolution. The Resolution, dated February 1, 2526 , was a major policy decision designed to provide a force for counter-terrorism efforts....
(formerly the 4th Company PARU) - Sea Air RescueAir-sea rescueAir-sea rescue is the coordinated search and rescue of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their sea-going vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships...
Unit
- Central Investigation Bureau - national coordinating headquarters which assist provincial and metropolitan components in preventing and suppressing criminal activity and in minimizing threats to national security. Having jurisdiction over the entire country, the CIB was organized to assist both provincial and metropolitan components of the TNPD in preventing and suppressing criminal activity and in minimizing threats to national security.
- Specialized units of the bureau, including the railroad, marine, highway, and forestry police, employed up-to-date technical equipment, law enforcement techniques, and training.
- five other divisions and offices employed modern procedures to assist in investigating and preventing crime.
- The Crime Suppression Division-one of the bureau's largest components—was responsible for conducting most of the technical investigations of criminal offenses throughout the kingdom. Its Emergency Unit coped with riots and other public disorders, sabotage, counterfeiting, fraud, illegal gambling operations, narcotics trafficking, and the activities of secret societies and organized criminal associations.
- Special Branch—sometimes referred to by critics as the "political police"--was responsible for controlling subversive activities and served as the TNPD's chief intelligence organization.
- The Criminal Records Office collected and maintained records required in the conduct of police work, including dossiers and fingerprints of known criminals and persons suspected of wrongdoing .
- the well-equipped Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, technicians performed the requisite chemical and physical analyses. *** Licenses Division registered and licensed firearms, vehicles, gambling establishments, and various other items and enterprises as required by law.
- Office of Immigration Bureau
- Narcotics Suppression Bureau
- Office Of Logistics
- Aviation Division - operates the force's extensive fleet of helicopters and light aircraft.
- Office of Royal Court Security Police
- Crown Prince's Royal Protective Unit
- Crown Prince Royal Protective Unit 'Dechochai Knight 3'
- Crown Prince's Royal Protective Unit
- Provincial Police Division -
The Provincial Police formed the largest of the TNPD operational components in both manpower and geographic responsibility. It was headed by a commander, who reported to the director general of the TNPD, and administered through four police regions—geographic areas of responsibility similar to those of the army regional commands. This force provided police services to every town and village throughout the kingdom except metropolitan Bangkok and border areas. The Provincial Police thus handled law enforcement activities and in many cases was the principal representative of the central government's authority in much of the country.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, as the police assumed an increasing role in counterinsurgency operations, a lack of coordination among security forces operating in the rural areas became apparent. Observers noted that the overall police effort suffered because of conflicting organizational patterns and the highly centralized control system that required decisions on most matters to emanate from the various police bureaus of TNPD headquarters in Bangkok.
A reorganization of the TNPD in 1978 and 1979 gave more command authority to the four police lieutenant generals who served as regional commissioners of the Provincial Police. Thereafter, the senior officers of each region not only controlled all provincial police assigned to their respective geographic areas but also directed the railroad, highway, marine, and forestry police units operating there, without going through the chain of command to the Central Investigation Bureau in Bangkok. Although this change increased the workload of the four regional headquarters, it resulted in greater efficiency and improved law enforcement.
Divided into 9 regions covering the 75 Provinces of Thailand
Provinces of Thailand
Thailand is divided into 76 provinces , which are geographically grouped into 6 regions. The capital Bangkok is not a province but a special administrative area and is included as the 77th province since it is administered at the same level as the other 76 provinces. The name of the provinces are...
except metropolitan Bangkok and the border areas:
-
- Region 1 Ayuthaya
- Region 2 Chonburi
- Region 3 Nakhon Ratchasima
- Region 4 Khon Kaen
- Region 5 Chiang Mai
- Region 6 Phitsanulok
- Region 7 Nakhon Pathom
- Region 8 Surat Thani
- Region 9 Songkhla
- Chaiya Training
- Special Operations Units
- 191 Special BranchSpecial BranchSpecial Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
Police- Arintharat 26Arintharat 26Arintharat 26 is a SWAT team of the Royal Thai Police. The squad specialises in hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, serving high risk arrest and search warrants; subduing barricaded suspects; and engaging heavily-armed criminals...
Special Operations Unit
- Arintharat 26
- The Police Education Bureau of the TNPD was responsible for training police personnel in the latest methods of law enforcement and the use of modern weapons. It operated the Police Officers Academy at Sam Phran, the detective training school at Bang Kaen, the Metropolitan Police Training School at Bang Kaen, and the Provincial Police training centers at Nakhon Pathom, Lampang, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Yala.
The bureau also supervised a number of sites established and staffed by the BPP to train its field platoons in counterinsurgency operations. These sites included a large national facility at Hua Hin and smaller facilities in Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Chiang Mai, and Songkhla.
- Tourist Police - uniformed personnel who lack police powers and are largely responsible for writing out reports for insurance companies for victims of theft. In more serious cases, they will translate reports to be passed on the normal police in Bangkok. Recently recruiting foreign nationals living in Thailand.
- Training
- Immigration Police Division
- Marine Police DivisionWater policeWater police, also called harbour patrols, port police, marine/maritime police, nautical patrols, bay constables or river police, are police officers, usually a department of a larger police organisation, who patrol in water craft...
- Metropolitan Police Division, Bangkok - Responsible for providing all law enforcement services for the capital city of Bangkok and its suburbs, the Metropolitan Police was probably the most visible and publicly recognizable of all TNPD components. This largely uniformed urban force operated under the command of a commissioner, who held the rank of police major general and was assisted by six deputy commissioners. Organizationally, the force consisted of three divisions, each responsible for police services in one of the three urban areas: northern Bangkok, southern Bangkok, and Thon Buri. Together they accounted for about forty police precincts, which were patrolled around the clock.
In addition to covering the city with foot patrols, the Metropolitan Police maintained motorized units, a canine corps, building guards, traffic-control specialists, and law enforcement personnel trained to deal with juvenile problems. The Traffic Police Division also provided mounted escorts and guards of honor for the king and visiting dignitaries and served as a riotcontrol force to prevent unlawful demonstrations and to disperse unruly crowds within the capital city.
- Narcotics Suppression Division
- Provincial Police Division
Royal Thai Police Aviation Division
- 1 Fokker 50
- 1 Casa CN - 235 - 200 M
- 9 EC 155 Helicopters
- 9 Bell 412Bell 412The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...
Helicopters - 15 Bell 212 Helicopters
- 26 Bell 205 Helicopters
- 16 Bell 206Bell 206The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- or twin-engine helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter program, the 206 failed to be selected...
Helicopters
Police Conduct
Recently, Thai Police and justice system in the holiday island of PhuketPhuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
have been accused of corruption, and over-reaction by tourist to the island. In one case an Australian woman was arrested and accused of stealing a bar mat. She spent four nights in jail and had her passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
confiscated. Then she faced a wait of another 14 weeks on bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
until the next phase of her prosecution. This is despite a friend of her confessing to the police and providing a sworn statement that she had placed the bar mat in the woman's bag as a joke.
Eventually the case was resolved after the intervention of governor of Phuket, Wichai Praisa-nob, after being contacted by Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and the Foreign Ministry. A deal was done under which she would plead guilty, she would be fined, and governor Wichai Praisa-nob would pay the fine and give an apology. After this her passport was returned and she was allowed to return to Australia.
In another case an American couple were arrested upon returning to Thailand and accused of being responsible of burning down a house in which they resided on a previous stay at Phuket. The fire had previously been investigated and found to have been caused by an electrical fault. To recover their passports and being allowed to depart Thailand they had to compensate the house owner and make under the table payments to the judges, the public prosecutor, everyone down to the bailiffs in the court. This cost then around 45,000 US dollars.
In 2007 a 15 year old Danish boy was involved in an insurance fraud when a Chinese couple threw themselves under his Jetboat
Jetboat
A jetboat is a boat propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft. Unlike a powerboat or motorboat that uses a propeller in the water below or behind the boat, a jetboat draws the water from under the boat into a pump inside the boat, then expels it through a nozzle at the...
killing one of them. While the court ruled the incident as an accident, the police detained the boy and held his passport until an amount of 300,000 DKK had been paid so the case could be settled within weeks.
The conduct of the local police in Pai, and Thai drug enforcement, has also generated an unusual amount of controversy over the past decade. This is partially due to the proximity of Pai
Pai, Thailand
Pai is a small town in northern Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, near the Myanmar border, about 50 miles/80 km north of Chiang Mai on the northern route to Mae Hong Son. It lies along the Pai River. The town has thesaban tambon status and covers parts of the tambon Wiang Tai of Pai district...
to drug routes from the Shan State in Burma, however given the post-2000 rise in incidents involving foreign tourists, it is evident that other factors are also at work.
Police corruption remains a problem in Thailand. Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2007, a survey assessing the public's perceptions and experience of corruption in 60 countries, states that, for Thailand, the police received a rating of four out of five, where one represents "not at all corrupt" and five represents "extremely corrupt" (6 Dec. 2007, 22).
Notable Thai Police Chiefs
- Phao SriyanondPhao SriyanondPhao Sriyanond was a director general of Thailand's national police who was notorious for his excesses against political opponents. He eventually fled the country and died in exile.-Rise to power:...
(also "Pao Sriyanond") was Director General of Thailand's national police from 1951 to 1957. - Sarit DhanarajataSarit DhanarajataField Marshal Sarit Thanarat , was a Thai career soldier who staged a coup in 1957, thereafter serving as Thailand's Prime Minister until his death in 1963. He was born in Bangkok, but grew up in his mother's home town in Lao-speaking northeastern Thailand and considered himself a northeasterner...
was Director General of Thailand's national police from 1959 to 1963. - Pratin Santiprapop was Director General of the Royal Thai Police from 1994 to 1994.
- Poj Boonyajinda was Director General of the Royal Thai Police from 1994 to 1997.
- Pracha Promnog was Director General of the Royal Thai Police from 1997 to 1998 and Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police from 1998 to 2000.
- Pornsak Durongkavibulya was Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police from 2000 to 2001.
- Sant Sarutanond was Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police from 2001 to 2004.
- Kowit WattanaKowit WattanaKowit Wattana is a Thai Police General and politician. From 2004 to 2007 he was the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police. In 2008, he was Minister of the Interior, and since 2011 he has been Deputy Prime Minister under Yingluck Shinawatra...
was Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police from 2004 to 2007. - Seripisut TemiyavetSeripisut TemiyavetPolice General Seripisut Temiyavet was Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police between February 2007 and April 2008. Appointed Police Commissioner of Thailand by a military junta, replacing Kowit Wattana, the Police Commissioner under deposed Premier Thaksin Shinawatra...
was the acting Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police from February 5, 2007 to September 10, 2007. - Kowit WattanaKowit WattanaKowit Wattana is a Thai Police General and politician. From 2004 to 2007 he was the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police. In 2008, he was Minister of the Interior, and since 2011 he has been Deputy Prime Minister under Yingluck Shinawatra...
was reinstated as Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police from September 10, 2007 to September 30, 2007 (his mandatory retirement). - Seripisut TemiyavetSeripisut TemiyavetPolice General Seripisut Temiyavet was Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police between February 2007 and April 2008. Appointed Police Commissioner of Thailand by a military junta, replacing Kowit Wattana, the Police Commissioner under deposed Premier Thaksin Shinawatra...
was Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police starting from October 1, 2007 to April 2008. Appointed Police Commissioner of Thailand by a military junta government. As a police officer he gained a reputation from targeting mafia leaders. He was removed from office on April 2008 by the elected government of Samak Sundaravej under charges of corruption. His supporters, however, claim that these charges are put-up jobs to punish him for prosecuting many cases against the militarily deposed former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
See also
- Border Patrol Police
- Naresuan 261 Counter-Terrorism UnitNaresuan 261 Counter-Terrorism Unit-History:Special Operations Unit "Naraesuan 261" was set up in 1983, Buddhist year 2526, by a Thai Cabinet Resolution. The Resolution, dated February 1, 2526 , was a major policy decision designed to provide a force for counter-terrorism efforts....
- Naresuan 261 Counter-Terrorism Unit
- Controversy over Police Conduct in Pai
Further reading
.Review by Thai Media Project