New format set for police reshuffle
An impending reshuffle of the police will focus on decentralising the administration of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), a high-ranking police source said yesterday. The changes follow the order by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, as chief of the National Council for Peace and Order, under Article 44 of the interim charter that was published in the Royal Gazette on Monday.
Police positions of the level of deputy commander and below will be reshuffled, the source said, but the planned adjustments are not much different from the previous format although there will be clearer steps.
As per the National Police Act 2004, each division’s commander was required to submit a list of candidates for promotion for the national police chief’s consideration before the candidates are screened by a board for appointment.
Prayut invoked sweeping powers based on Article 44 to issue an order on April 26, 2016 amending the act authorising national police to appoint officers directly. The amendment was made after the 2015 appointment of deputy superintendents and inspectors was delayed until last year.
Under the new format, each command chief will set up a committee comprising deputy commanders to screen candidates. The names compiled by the panel will then be forwarded to the national police chief, who will chair a board also comprising deputy national police chiefs to consider appointments.
Declining to say if the new format would help to solve the issue of officers paying for promotions, the source said the order was obviously aimed at decentralising the administration of the bureau systematically.
