People will likely be able to file criminal complaints at any police station in the country soon regardless of where the incident occurred in Thailand, according to a committee responsible for reforming the justice system.
Pol Lt Gen Amnuay Nimmano, a committee member, said the measure was included in the police reform plan after his panel held its final meeting on Monday, when they finalised bills on police and criminal investigations.
The bills will be forwarded to the cabinet for approval, he said, adding once enforced, changes will be evident in the structure of the Royal Thai Police (RTP) and its investigative powers. Four new practices were proposed as part of the urgent reforms, he said.
The first concerns where people can file criminal complaints. Pol Lt Gen Amnuay said the new approach was designed for greater convenience by saving those who lodge complaints both time and travel expenses. The RTP has instructed stations to interview complainants before forwarding cases within three days to the station that has jurisdiction over the area where the crime occurred, he said.
Under the second practice, the Lawyers Council of Thailand will send lawyers to provide legal assistance to people at 150 stations as part of a pilot scheme, Pol Lt Gen Amnuay said. The stations will either be in large city centres or ones that handle over 1,000 cases a year. For stations that see over 2,000 cases a year, volunteer lawyers will be stationed around the clock, he said.
For other stations where lawyers are not stationed, people would be able to seek legal advice for free using a video conference system, Pol Lt Gen Amnuay said. The third measure aims to ban suspects from attending police press briefings to protect the rights of those who have not yet been convicted, he said.
Despite this, photos of suspects could still be made public if that was deemed in the public interest, for example in the case of a police manhunt, he added. The other measure concerns the practice in which suspects could be temporarily discharged from prison on weekends under court orders. The committee also discussed the possible use of tracking devices on suspects with pending investigations.
