Police struggle to hit arrests target

PHUKET: Official police statistics show that during the period from September 1 to 25, two murders were reported with no arrests made, two attempted murders with one arrest, two cases of manslaughter with one arrest, and one rape was reported with one arrest made. There were also 15 cases of assault reported, with seven arrests made. Also during September, 24 arrests on drugs charges were made, including seven involving amphetamines, seven involving marijuana, three arrests for sniffing paint thinner, and seven involving ya bah (methamphetamine), in which 206 tablets of the drug were seized. One case involving heroin was reported, with no arrests made. Other arrests included 46 for illegal gambling and 155 for illegally entering the country. The “efficiency rate” was low, with arrests resulting in only 45.45% of cases, compared with a police target of 60%.