Developing Innovations to Promote Morality and Ethics to Create Awareness of Corruption Prevention Among Police Officers

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to study success factors for enhancing the performance of police officers in accordance with moral and ethical principles, and to develop measurement tools and innovations to promote morality. This study employed a mixed-methods research design. The qualitative research involved in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with 55 key informants. The quantitative research involved collecting data via an achievement assessment form regarding an application designed to promote morality, ethics, and anti-corruption awareness among 226 Thai police officers.

        The results revealed that problems influencing performance based on good governance principles included the patronage system, structural issues, corruption and misconduct, personnel management, social and political pressures, and a lack of ethical training. Conversely, promoting factors included adjusting compensation to align with workload, fostering an organizational culture focused on morality, establishing policies for ethical evaluation, and utilizing digital technology to strengthen ethics. The measurement tool developed was a 5-point rating scale questionnaire consisting of three parts: general information, ethical level assessment, and additional suggestions, where higher scores reflected higher levels of morality. Furthermore, the “COPDee” platform was developed to promote morality and ethics within the police organization. Its functions include news dissemination, whistleblowing, honoring moral individuals, a discussion forum, and an automated advisory Chatbot. Key policy recommendations suggest that the Royal Thai Police should establish anti-corruption policies as an urgent agenda and integrate the COPDee platform into the official performance evaluation system to create a sustainable moral police organization.