People Do Not Trust Thailand's Police, Seminar Told by Phairath Khampha 26 June 2002 Thailand's police could not be relied upon to protect the public, a seminar on justice reform was told. The Justice Ministry held the seminar at Bangkok University on June 14, 2002 and invited legal experts from universities and state agencies to comment. Assoc Prof Pratan Watanavanit, from Thammasat University's law faculty, said opinion surveys showed Thais had no confidence in their police. Few believed they could count on police when they ran into difficulty. Given their lack of confidence, people tended not to co-operate with police in solving crimes, he said. Police were not good at solving crimes, judging by the number of arrests made compared with the total number of cases. Past revamps only created more generals. Many suspects in serious crimes were still on the loose and police were ineffective in pressing criminal charges, he said. Asadang Panikabut, from the political science faculty of Ramkhamhaeng University, said the only obvious result of repeated efforts to restructure the force was increases in the number of police generals appointed to the ranks. The force now employed more than 300 generals, about 20 times more than in all of Canada's armed forces. They enjoyed high salaries and were required to do very little for them. Favouritism was rampant at police national headquarters. And almost all of the generals were extremely corrupt and wealthy. Mr Asadang said police recruitment and training should be overhauled. The public should be allowed to supervise their local police. Assoc Prof Suthinee Ratanawaraha, from Ramkhamhaeng University's law faculty, said police injustice was the favourite topic among her students. Jaran Ditthapichai, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, said the justice system still allowed violations of suspects' rights. Police were the main offenders, amid reports of suspects being tortured to confess. Akarasak Jitthamma, an Appeals Court judge, said police held the most power in the justice system. Their powers should be trimmed, he said. Many speakers said the Justice Ministry should have the most important role in the justice system, weighing the powers of police, the prosecution, judges and the courts. Justice Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng said justice-related parties should co-operate and balance one another.