The image of police officers armed with pistols and batons chasing after criminals may be stuck in the popular mind but the day is coming when they are just as likely do the same job on their smartphones, with the aid of an application from the Police Data Centre (PDC).
That is what national police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda hopes after he approved a plan last week to equip police officers nationwide with the PDC phone application next year as part of an ambitious goal to arrest nearly one million criminal suspects.
As suggested by its name, the PDC app gives police a link to a large database that compiles details of suspects from purse snatchers and drug dealers to influential figures and wanted people branded as "those who can cause danger to members of the public".
With suspects' identities and backgrounds called up on their smartphones, the officers will have more information to devise a smarter approach to apprehending criminal suspects and bringing them to justice.
The idea was introduced after a discussion between deputy national police chief Winai Thongsong and police investigators on a new, more effective way to tackle crime by pursuing suspects with pending arrest warrants and former convicts returning to crime after serving their sentences.
In Pol Gen Winai's view, background information on criminal suspects is just as vital to their arrest as clues found at crime scenes.
Measures such as setting up traffic stops on streets to look for suspicious people can be fine, but police often have no idea whether people in the vehicles are criminals, he said.
However, if officers on the street can immediately search and check information, whether it is a list of wanted suspects or vehicle details, they will be able to better screen cars and occupants at those road checkpoints.
"Imagine if police can get these details in real time through the app working on both Android and iOS platforms," Pol Gen Winai said, referring to the app, which he wants to be compatible with two popular cellphone-based operating systems.
App developers at the police academy are currently using the PDC in a trial, expecting the app will be ready for wider use after the New Year holidays.
It will be further developed and updated so it can become another permanent tool for law enforcement officers.
Part of the information on which the PDC is based comes from a list of suspects facing arrest warrants currently compiled by the Command Control Operations Centre under the Crime Suppression Division.
The CSD hopes to organise and systemise details of wanted suspects and build better information links among police agencies around the country.
This is partly an issue of efficiency, but is also part of needed police reforms as the country prepares for the advent of the Asean Economic Community, Pol Gen Winai said.
In addition to the information on the arrest warrants, the PDC also combines another 23 types of criminal records to make an even larger new database for police. They include the lists of inmates completing their jail terms, influential figures, drug dealers, gamblers, thieves, rapists, weapon traders as well as those who commit wrongdoings against the environment, embezzlement and violations of people's rights and freedoms.
Pol Gen Winai: Software provides instant help
This web of information will be useful to future police investigations because it can help officers search for whether a criminal suspect is involved in multiple crimes.
Confessions from suspects have shown police that many of them do not commit just one crime, Pol Gen Winai said. "This is one reason why past investigations and criminal crackdowns have not been very effective", he said, especially when police were not aware of a connection between suspects and various crimes.
But next year, he expects, police operations, with help from the PDC, will go one step further to helping officers nab at least those with outstanding arrest warrants.
There is nothing complicated about using the PDC app. Officers simply download the app and enter a password to get the information they want. As for the criminals, they might have to re-assess the threat posed by police if the app boosts their ability to find wrong-doers as hoped.
"It is good to see their fear increase as people's anxieties over crime go down, which is the ultimate goal of the police," Pol Gen Winai said.
Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th