Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, deputy national police chief, said that police checkpoints will be back on the roads nationwide from today, with an emphasis on transparency and public scrutiny.
In October last year, the national police chief ordered the suspension of checkpoints for drink-driving and other offences until transparency of the tests could be ensured.
Pol Gen Kittiprapas said the police chief recently issued new directives, which must be followed, and checkpoints will resume from 1st April 2021.
Advertisement
Pol Gen Kittiprapas said surveillance cameras must be operating at all checkpoints and officers must wear body cameras, to ensure transparency.
This applies to all checkpoints – whether traffic police, alcohol testing, air pollution or crime prevention.
Each checkpoint must have a sign showing the police hotline 1599 and the phone number of the commanding officer in the area, in case anyone wants to file a complaint.
Pol Gen Kittiprapas said a police panel had looked into the pros and cons of checkpoints since their use was suspended last year.
It concluded that the absence of checkpoints would lead to a rise in the number of offences, such as drink driving, driving in non-driving lanes, failure to wear crash helmets, drug smuggling, and illegal immigration.
Advertisement
