Pol Lt Gen Chantape Sesavej set off on a strong foot when he took the top job at the Metropolitan Police Bureau by announcing his intention to reform the police force, including officers' attitudes.
To the surprise of many Bangkok folk who might have expected the acting city police chief would overhaul approaches to fighting crime, Pol Lt Gen Chantape has instead chosen to make an internal change as the first step to reform, by altering the way city police behave.
On the first day he took the job on Oct 1, he declared police checkpoints serving no clear purpose would be removed. Such checkpoints were common on Bangkok streets, targeting traffic offenders in general.
However, the city police chief found the purpose of the checkpoints was too broad.
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They also cause congestion and stir resentment between motorists and the traffic police. They can serve as a platform for unscrupulous police to extort money from innocent motorists, said Pol Lt Gen Chantape.
"I think these checkpoints hurt the police's image and allow them to do what is not right," Pol Lt Gen Chantape told the Bangkok Post.
The checkpoints were not a pleasant sight, even though stringent traffic law enforcement is necessary to keep the roads safe.
He admitted scenes of police flagging down cars and handing out tickets to drivers would not win the police any popularity contests.
Some motorists complain of traffic officers "hiding" behind bushes on the side of the road or pedestrian flyovers and leaping out to catch offenders.
Many motorists were under the impression they had fallen into a trap, Pol Lt Gen Chantape said. That had also tarnished the police's reputation.
"This is not appropriate," he said, adding: "The police have better things to do."
In his view, there are many other ways to enforce traffic rules. For example, officers can use closed-circuit television to monitor motorists who jump traffic lights or park in no-parking areas.
Pol Lt Gen Chantape has insisted the police attitude to law enforcement must change under a new policy, the so-called 'police mind' where the officers must work to serve and protect with a greater sense of service-mindedness.
The goal of the policy is to do away with the image of police as bullying and show them to be polite, helpful and well-behaved.
The central idea of a 'police mind' involves building up officers' outward expression of friendliness, he said.
The policy is new to the MPB, but this was not his first time he plans to put it into practice.
He piloted a similar project when working as chief of Provincial Police Region 1, which covers nine provinces in the Central Plains.
Pol Lt Gen Chantape was reportedly promoted to MPB commissioner with the strong support of his close friend, national police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda.
The former Provincial Police Region 1 chief said the 'police mind' policy came from his decades-long observation of police behaviour since he began his career in 1983 working as an inspector in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
He said he has seen too much conflict between police and locals.
People were dissatisfied with how the police were conducting crime suppression and investigative work while the officers were becoming stressed out by all the public criticism, he said.
The police apparently felt little pride and motivation in their job.
"As a police bureau leader, I thought I should give them guidance so they can really work for the people," he said.
The commissioner said actions speak louder than words. The uniforms and ranks alone will not lead them to deliver their duties in an honourable way, he said.
Busting crime and arresting criminals is only part of the police's duties, he said.
''They must also possess the 'police mind' and come across as being eager to assist people, in the same way doctors care for their patients,'' he said.
"I think this idea can serve as a kind of reform of police culture," he said.
Ditching unnecessary roadside checkpoints would be the first step to showing the public the police are adopting a friendlier attitude.
However, Pol Lt Gen Chantape said this does not mean all checkpoints in Bangkok will be gone.
Those set up to detect drug abusers, drug traffickers and robbery suspects will remain in place, as will those police have set up jointly with transport officials to seize vehicles belching out black exhaust smoke.
Also, crackdowns on criminal activities will continue. Pol Lt Gen Chantape said he has instructed stations across the city to better plan their patrol missions especially in areas where robberies are often reported.
He said investigators will receive closer cooperation from people if they can build public trust.
In his opinion, the 'police mind' policy represents a reform platform to bring the public and the police closer.
Pol Lt Gen Chantape said the MPB is among the first units proceeding with the reform without waiting for approval from the police reform committee, led by Gen Boonsrang Niumpradit, the former supreme commander.
City police, including those in the traffic unit, must create their own 'police mind' initiative to determine what reform attitude works best for them, according to Pol Lt Gen Chantape.
"They can face disciplinary probes if people lodge complaints against them, no matter what they are about -- no matter whether they concern verbal abuse or rough behaviour," he said.
