Royal Thai Police create new division

The Royal Thai Police are working to establish a High-Tech Crime Suppression Division, to oversee the fight against technology-related crime.

The new division, with a dedicated budget and 200 to 300 well-trained police, is expected to be operating officially by October this year.

High-Tech Crime Centre deputy commander Pisit Paoin said the creation of the new division would see his centre's authority increased, to enforce computer-crime laws more efficiently with a one-stop service aimed at suppressing technology-related crime.

Pisit said there were two main forms of computer crime: computer-as-a-target crime, such as information system hacking and data destruction, and computer-as-an-instrument crime, such as using a computer to defame a person or to carry out online cheating.

About 90 per cent of computer crime involves a criminal using a computer as a tool to attack his victims. Investigating this kind of crime requires collaboration and integration of resources among several related organisations. At present, the High-tech Crime Centre has insufficient resources to handle the increasing number of computer crimes, he said.

The new High-Tech Crime Suppression Division will still collaborate with the Metropolitan Police Bureau and Provincial Police regions in investing technology-related crimes, but the division will become the host.

"Our plans include the setting up of High-Tech Crime Suppression teams - with about 10 police in each - embedded in each Provincial Police region. These police will be trained in high-tech crime investigation. We will also provide equipment and tools for them to use in investigations," Pisit said.

High-tech crime investigation courses have been introduced at the Royal Police Cadet Academy, and police personnel throughout the country are also undergoing training.

"We expected that in the near future we will have many more police experts in high-tech crime and investigation," he said.