The Police Commission has approved reviving the “investigator career track” and plans to raise compensation to match officials of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, with the appointment agenda set for this April.
Today (25 Feb) at the Royal Thai Police Headquarters, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, serving as Chair of the Police Commission, presided over the 2/2026 Police Commission meeting. A key agenda item was item 4 concerning designating investigation police positions as dual roles that allow internal rank adjustments, along with criteria and methods for evaluating knowledge and capability for promotion under the National Police Act B.E. 2565 (2022).
Another agenda item was item 5, the draft Police Commission regulation on special additional pay for positions performing duties in the investigation branch, B.E. ….
Police Lieutenant General Chaitphojan Suwanrak, Chief of the Investigation Promotion Command and deputy police spokesperson, said after the meeting that the commission approved in principle designating investigation branch positions as dual roles that can be flexibly adjusted up or down to align with officers’ specialized tasks and expertise. They also set criteria and methods to evaluate knowledge, ability, and experience to support promotions up to deputy commander level, in line with the intent of the National Police Act B.E. 2565.
Following this, a working group from the Personnel Office and the Investigation Promotion Institute (IPI) will expedite explanations and understanding among all relevant units to prepare for reinstating the investigator career track system in time for police appointments this coming April.
“The revival of this structure is a positive sign that senior management of the Royal Thai Police values investigators, who are key players and core strength of the organization. Initially, pilot training sessions will be conducted at the Provincial Police Region 2 headquarters, targeting officers from inspector level upward to receive introductory briefings. Afterwards, forums will be held to gather feedback and suggestions from frontline personnel to refine the evaluation system to be more complete and better suited to actual work,” the deputy police spokesperson said.
Police Lieutenant General Chaitphojan added that besides structural issues, the commission agreed to consider increasing position allowances or special pay for investigators to boost morale and motivation, given their stressful duties and heavy workloads. The goal is to raise compensation rates to be comparable with officials of the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
The meeting assigned Police General Kittirat Phanphet, the National Police Chief and a Police Commission member, to represent the commission in discussions with the Ministry of Finance. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, as Police Commission Chair, has taken up the matter for policy-level talks with the Ministry of Finance and the Comptroller General’s Department. The Prime Minister understands the duties and challenges faced by investigators and is fully supportive.