Police cadets tackling drug case backlog

Police cadets tackling drug case backlog

With thousands of unresolved drug crimes on the cops' books, trainees are being handed some real-life coursework

Amassive backlog of unresolved drugs cases is being reduced thanks to a senior police officer's plan for trainee investigators to gain real-life experience by tackling the cases.

Utane: Renowned for unorthodox methods

Nearly 4,500 cases involving the possession of drugs for sale have been compiled by the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB), said Pol Lt Col Utane, deputy superintendent 3 of Provincial Police Region 1's investigation division, who came up with the scheme.

He said arrest warrants have been issued for these cases _ many of which carry death sentences _ but the investigations have been slow to catch up with the burgeoning list.

Many of the cases remain unresolved because of a lack of manpower, he said.

Pol Lt Col Utane thought it made sense to have the trainees sift through the backlog as part of their coursework at the Royal Thai Police Office investigation school. "They are learning by dealing with these real cases," he said.

While his trainees are assigned to search for drug suspects, Pol Lt Col Utane, who is also a teacher at the school, mentors them on various techniques that help them make arrests.

The officers are also taught various tricks to help them obtain information about suspects, he said.

These include how to check phone call logs for clues and how to make use of information gleaned from the suspects' personal documents such as changes of addresses, workplace files and their bank accounts.

Pol Lt Col Utane said the real-life cases show the students how to process data and evidence, as well as how to work with police with other specialisations and from other jurisdictions.

The trainees are learning the art of investigative techniques without relying on textbooks, he said.

Each year, the number of police officers wanting to attend the police investigation school exceeds the number of spaces available on the four-month course. The school can train a maximum of 40 officers at a time.

Pol Lt Col Utane's unorthodox methods have already earned him recognition in the past for his so-called "lucky mail" strategy, which led to six arrests related to sexual assaults in Samut Prakan.

The suspects were lured into leaving their hideouts after receiving letters which told them they had won major awards. Their addresses were found by searching through house registrations.

Pol Lt Col Utane said his team spent just 15 baht on each letter, and simply waited for suspects to present themselves at the locations mentioned in the fake prize letters.

As for the drug case backlog, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) is offering 30,000 baht to officers who make contributions leading to arrests.

The cash reward was initiated by national police chief Pol Gen Adul Saengsingkaew when he was ONCB secretary-general. It is a good incentive for police investigators, Pol Lt Col Utane said.

So far, suspects in 1,300 of the 4,448 active drug cases have been arrested. Of them, 63 were arrested as a result of the work of Pol Lt Col Utane's team of trainees. The arrests were made between Aug 29 and Oct 31 of this year, he said.

Pol Lt Col Utane said he wants the ONCB to continue to reward police investigators and provide them with the hands-on experience gained from joining his investigative training.

"It's a good project and must continue," ONCB secretary-general Pongsapat Pongcharoen said.

Its funding should be increased if arrests are made on major cases, Pol Gen Pongsapat, also a deputy police chief, said.


Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th

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