Thai society has watched the Royal Thai Police commit acts of professional misconduct, brutality, corruption, and violations of human rights without action by the government to reign it in. The youth-led pro-democracy protests have again afforded the police another opportunity to commit acts of brutality on Friday, re-arresting three of the most high-profile movement leaders — rendering one unconscious from an unnecessary chokehold.
These acts of professional misconduct and needless brutality are commonplace and are becoming normalized—just a few weeks after police fired water laced with chemicals from cannons at protesters in October. Or who can forget the manhandling of activist Jatupat Boonpattararaksa near Democracy Monument? While police tactics have been the topic of conversation for weeks, the reputation of the police as an institution has remained scarred for decades.
It marked another stain on the record of the institution and on the record of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who has failed to craft meaningful reforms. These stories are all too common. Foreign tourists have reported threats and intimidation from corrupt police officers. The police were key figures in the human rights atrocities committed against student protesters in both and , after which there were calls for reform that led to only minimal changes.
Police were involved in the crackdown of the protests—and reform calls fell again on deaf ears. Police were later accused of abducting and killing of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaichit , who advocated for the rights of Muslims.
The lack of political will and continuity in Thailand is partially to blame. The Constitution requires police reform, but it has never arrived. Prayut had pledged in the past to take personal responsibility for police reform, but has been slow to act. The police have been under the direct supervision of Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, but he has chosen to develop close relationships with top-ranking police officers rather than pursue serious reforms.
