On a visit to the office of the Superintendent of the Cha-Am Royal Thailand Police we couldn’t help but notice a large criminology text book on a table titled ‘Modern Policing’, perhaps an indication of the forward looking approach by the ‘Super’.
Cha –Am Today was recently welcomed by Police Colonel Witas Boriraks, or Khun ‘Mao ‘as his friends know him. The main message our host was eager to give to us and to share with our readers was that there is little to fear for those visiting or living in Cha-Am. Cha-Am is a safe community.
Khun Witas is very eager to manage a Police Service that provides the best of care for everyone in the community. He really wants people to feel confident and be able to trust the uniform. He has an open door policy so that community concerns can be addressed by him personally if that’s required.
When asked about the challenges of the job, resource allocation for him is the main issue. When resources are scarce but responsibilities ever increasing, staff shortages come into play.
Khun Witas lives with his wife and two daughters in Hua Hin. As he explains policing at his level of responsibility is a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week commitment. To have any personal ‘space’, being able to live with his family one step away from Cha-Am makes a difference. On infrequent occasions he also enjoys playing golf. He has held the position of Superintendant for the past 3 years and his previous position was in Sam Roi Yot.
But what about the future?
Khun Witas told us about two projects that drew our attention.
ü Ever conscious of the 2015 Asean future, English communication between the Police and members of the community is a need the Cha-Am Police are now reconsidering. Accordingly English language training for the Police is firmly on the agenda.
ü To better understanding the profile and needs of the community, a house to house survey is being planned. The intention is to use uniformed police officers to go door to door but also to provide an English language version of the survey. We offered some assistance with this process, to advise readers about the timing and content of the survey but also if assistance is required with the English language content. More news soon.
Ch-Am’s Police Superintendent wants a greater dialogue with the Cha-Am community and we hope that Cha-Am Today can be a part of achieving that aim. We hope to bring our readers more information in the future about policing services in both Cha-Am and Hua Hin.
