Police admit trouble at top

In a rare admission, the National Police yesterday said it had failed to achieve a significant portion of its “strategic plan” for the past five years, which a senior police official blamed on poor communication and ineffectual high-level bureaucrats.

National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith yesterday told reporters that only about three-fifths of the force’s stated aims had been reached, although he refrained from divulging specific details of the police’s shortcomings.

“The first reason for this is that there is a limited understanding among the lower units, which are not clear on our policy, and this reflects in their performance,” he said.

“The second reason is that the elite units are not involved in the work. All they do is sit and sign pieces of paper, but they have no idea what they are signing,” he added. “Plans are just that, plans. And actions are actions. This [current situation] is no good.”

The five-year plan, that had failed to achieve 40 per cent of its goals, came to a close last year, and a new five-year plan will run until 2019.

“The result of the five-year plan for all units, from 2008 to 2013, was not as successful as planned,” he said.

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