The status of 12 million Thais in the Royal Thai Police's criminal database is in limbo due to the force's outdated system and disregard for investigation procedures. That's nearly one in six of the population.
The majority of those in limbo stand accused of violating the law but have not been found guilty. Yet they are robbed of many legal rights due to their recorded status. This travesty must end.
Police must remove them from the criminal records. They must stop this systematic violation of citizens' legal rights.
This legal havoc stems from police treating suspects as criminals, which ditches the principle of innocent until proven guilty. Suspects are forced to get fingerprinted and their data, along with other personal information, is stored in the criminal database.
Even when suspects are released by the police or have their cases dismissed by public attorneys or the court, and regardless whether they are ruled innocent, their data remains as part of criminal records. Consequently, many have reported losing job opportunities or being barred from travelling abroad.
The press is also subject to this legal issue. Defamation lawsuits are routinely used to silence the media for exposing wrongdoings. Even when cases are dismissed, statuses are not updated in the police's archaic database. Consequently, many journalists can't have their press cards issued by the Department of Public Relations and likewise are barred from travelling overseas.
On June 3, representatives of the National Press Council of Thailand, the Thai Journalists Association, the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, the National Union of Journalists Thailand, and the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand met Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, assistant chief of the national police, to discuss the need to overhaul the outdated criminal record system.
Pol Lt Gen Surachate admitted the problem is real. As of April, the status of 12.4 million Thais had not been updated in the database, he said.
The police, he said, have already begun updating criminal records and found that 7.8 million cases have been concluded via court verdicts and should be removed. They are now examining the remaining 4.8 million cases, he said.
He said police are now clearing the database so the innocent can live their lives with dignity and have full legal rights once again. Their names will be removed from the police's criminal records and be placed elsewhere, he said.
The process will be complete in April next year, he said, adding that police will inform affected individuals of any changes. The police are also amending rules and regulations involved in record-keeping, he added.
This is a change in the right direction, but the move still fails to address the crux of the problem.
The presumption of innocence is enshrined in the constitution and is a core right in the justice system. Yet police violate it regularly by forcing the accused to be fingerprinted and have information stored in the criminal record.
This practice violates both the constitution and judicial ethics. It is illegal. The rules and regulations police use to support this practice are, therefore, illegal. These violations must stop.
Officers must also respect the 2019 Personal Data Protection Act, which took effect early this month. They must protect the personal data of citizens in every step of the process, including collection, storage and dissemination.
Police may cite exceptions allowed under the law amid investigations but the process must not violate privacy nor infringe on rights.
The RTP must issue new rules and regulations in line with the Personal Data Protection Act. Police's criminal database must comply with the law and information needs to be frequently updated.
During investigations, police should no longer fingerprint suspects without permission. Moreover, the information must be kept in the database for suspects, not in the criminal database.
Waiting until next year to remove the innocent from the criminal database is far too long. Every day of being wrongly tainted means losses of opportunities. Apart from speeding up the process, police must allow those affected to rectify their records.
Any access to police records must ensure the protection of personal data to prevent abuse.
Yet piecemeal changes in the criminal records system are not enough. The police must also change their mindset.
They must not treat people's personal information as police property. They must stop treating the accused as criminals. They must respect the principle of presumption of innocence. Only then will real change occur.
