6.1.2 The Way Forward

When stakeholders were asked what actions were necessary in order to respond to TOC more efficiently, they focused on cooperation, enforcement, legal reform, capacity building and public awareness. Although most agreed that Thailand had good practices in place, the best practices need to be refined and integrated across the country.

Closer cooperation among relevant stakeholders will help combat TOC at all levels. Cooperation within each agency should come first, followed by inter-agency cooperation and then cooperation with external actors. Better cooperation and collaboration will lead to better information sharing with other countries. Information in Thailand is decentralized, which makes it challenging for local information to be shared far and wide. Officers need better data technology skills in order to manage information sharing across the country.

Stakeholders repeatedly called for stricter enforcement of existing laws and reducing the length of the judicial process.

Legal and policy reform were cited as ways to streamline bureaucracy and strengthen institutional resolve to fight TOC. A stronger political will to fight TOC would have a major impact. Law enforcement should maintain its independence from the executive power. Interviewees recommenced extending immunity to foreign law enforcement agents operating undercover in Thailand, since it is difficult for foreign agents to penetrate criminal groups without full immunity. Stakeholders also recommended establishing a specific unit within the courts of justice to arrest people who did not attend their mandated court appointment, since the police are already overwhelmed with duties.

Capacity building on the whole would benefit the fight against TOC. Capacity building includes research, training and the funds necessary to make such advancements possible. Research, including information sharing among agencies and strategic intelligence capabilities, is essential. Improving specific technical capabilities such as biometric and fingerprint detection, the ability to intercept phone calls, and other electronic communications would give stakeholders more tools to track and prosecute crimes.

Some officials lack awareness of how to handle situations involving TOC or even how to properly identify it. Capacity building requires sustained funding for law enforcement, especially for research, training, technical equipment and reasonable salaries.

Stakeholders repeatedly called for better public awareness of TOC, which could allow the public to recognize illegal activity and report to the authorities when they see something suspicious. The need for deeper knowledge and greater awareness in particular of environmental crimes, both among the public and key professionals, was also referenced frequently by stakeholders.

Awareness of wildlife trafficking among the public and by officials has improved significantly, but there is more work to be done in order in order to promote wildlife protection as a national priority. Focusing on prevention in addition to suppression is also key, since this will reduce the demand for wildlife products.

Awareness of hazardous waste trafficking lags behind the awareness of other forms of TOC. In addition to public awareness, law enforcement efforts would be enhanced by developing more capacity to investigate and prosecute these crimes. The lack of GPS monitoring for waste shipments is but one example of the current deficiency in capacity. Since the field itself is not well defined, different ministries are involved but they are not coordinating with one another. According to the stakeholders, ministries have a tendency to look at violations in isolation rather than addressing the larger criminal activity.

The majority of the relevant stakeholders were of the opinion that the practices mentioned above are in place, with the common caveat that those practices simply are still not as effective as they need to be. As for coordination and cooperation in terms of information sharing, some promising practices are in place. For example, whenever an arrest is made for undocumented migration, all relevant agencies are notified. The Anti-Money Laundering Office liaises with financial institutions in order to have suspicious transactions reported. Some databases already exist, such as the civil registration database and an INTERPOL database called I24/7, which has proven to be useful. However, more needs to be done. Linked databases on criminal records and greater dissemination of information from immigration and customs would be beneficial for combating TOC.

Training procedures are in place, although they tend to be regionally selective, leaving many in the more remote areas poorly equipped.