The junta leader has named an army general as the head of a committee to reform the police force. Meanwhile, a civil society group advocating police reform has denounced the committee for lack of public participation.  

On 4 July 2017 at Government House, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, announced that the cabinet had agreed to appoint Gen Boonsang Niampradit, a former Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, as chair of the committee to reform the Royal Thai Police (RTP) and set the direction of work.

The RTP will work closely with provincial governors to maintain local peace and security, but the line of command of the police force is still under Gen Chakthip Chaijinda, the national police chief, said the junta leader.  

Asked by the media if appointing an army general to reform the police force is problematic, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said Boonsang is an expert on the structure of security forces as he graduated from West Point Military Academy in the US.

He added that Boonsang was elected chair by the 36 police reform committee members.

On the same day, Police Watch (PW), a civil society group campaigning for police reform, denounced the committee, pointing out that most of its members are military and police officers while there is not a single seat given to representatives of civil society groups.

The establishment of the police reform committee is the first concrete step toward police reform since the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) took power in 2014 when it declared that police reform was one of its top priorities, as the police force is regularly criticised for a lack of transparency in appointments and promotions  

The regime stated earlier that the primary goal is to rid the police force of ‘political influence’ especially in the investigation department where police inquiry officers are key.

However, many people, including police officers themselves, are sceptical of whether the junta’s reform initiatives will increase the efficiency and accountability of the RTP or merely bring the force more firmly under military control.