Academic calls for police reform before legalising casinos

An academic on Sunday called for police reform to prevent corruption before the government would decriminalise underground businesses, especially legalising casinos.

Prof Dr Attakrit Patchimnan, director of the Sanya Dharmasakti Institute for Democracy, said a comprehensive police reform would be a necessary first step before the country could move on to other issues.

Attakrit was commenting on an idea floated by ruling Pheu Thai Party’s patriarch former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who said underground businesses should be legalised and regulated to solve social issues and to increase revenue for the country.

Attakrit noted that police were the law enforcers so they must be restrained to prevent abusing authority and corruption.

He said police reform must be a top priority.

“If the police are reformed, we can go on to other issues,” Attakrit said.
He said the government might apply AI technologies for monitoring police operations as part of police reform to ensure transparency.

“This should be done before underground businesses would come to the surface,” Attakrit said.

He said the next government should not focus on raising revenue from underground businesses and it should also take into account Thai culture.

He said the government should gradually implement its policy to decriminalise underground businesses because it would be able to solve problems if any issue occurred later.

He said if the government wanted to go ahead with the project to allow opening an entertainment complex with casinos, it should select a proper location and restrict access by local people.

He said the government should follow the example of South Korea, which prohibits local people from entering casinos to prevent social issues.

Such an entertainment complex should be built only in a tourist-destination city, Attakrit added.