Thailand is embarking on two ambitious reforms - one aimed at improving the political system and the other slated to revamp the police. Time will tell whether the country can succeed in this double mission or plunge into a quandary caused by trying to do too much too quickly.

Respective parties in charge of political and police reforms will need the public's full backing if they are to overcome the complex issues involved.

While the writing of the new constitution is expected to start in January, the police restructuring is in full swing and the future direction of the Royal Thai Police (RTP) should start to emerge in the next few months.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont held a closed door meeting with national police chief General Kowit Watana and all police commissioners on Tuesday.

Surayud's three-point message is clear - the RTP must be decentralised, the police service must be freed from political interference in order to prevent tampering with justice, and the public must be involved for performance evaluation.

The debate on police restructuring has been going on for more than two decades. The first wave of police reform took place in the 1980s - under the Prem Tinsulanonda government.

The latest round of police transformation happened in 2004 setting out the existing structure of the RTP.

These previous face-lift operations obviously failed because deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra managed to transform the police service to serve his tentacles of power.

Under Thaksin's leadership, the country was close to becoming a police state and was being marred by shameful incidents such as more than 2,000 mysterious killings during the war on drugs and forced disappearances that triggered the outbreak of southern violence.

Even though changes in the police service appear to stop short of achieving the desired results, the current reform process differs from precedent in one important aspect.

In the past, political cronies were in charge of police reform. But this time Vasit Dejkunchorn, a retired police general who has served as a royal aide to His Majesty the King for three decades, is responsible for reshaping the police service.

Vasit is beyond reproach for his honesty and professional integrity in the police force. His name came up as a potential candidate to lead the previous rounds of reforms but failed to get the appointment.

His police opponents see him as too clean a figure who might upset their vested interests.

By next week, Vasit will have commenced his work with a full head of steam under the assistance of four panels to map out the restructuring.

The four panels are led by three senior police officers and a civilian, Lt General Kraisuk Srisuk, Lt General Wacharaphol Prasarnratchakij, Lt General Wanchai Srinualnud and lawmaker Sungsidh Piriyarangsan.

The Kraisuk panel is in charge of decentralisation in which the RTP is expected to become a supervising body for regional police forces.

It is expected to recommend that police relinquish non-core works and redirect resources to boost the performance of police stations.

The Wacharaphol panel will have a tough assignment - how to safeguard the police service from manipulation by politicians. It is slated to recommend the upgrade of the police force to be on a par with the judiciary and public prosecutors.

The Wanchai panel will draft legislative amendments designed to ensure a successful reform process. On the drawing board are draft bills to help police officers fight crime.

The Sungsidh panel is responsible for coming up with recommendations to boost public involvement in the scrutiny of police performance. At present, many civic leaders have been appointed to sit on police boards at the provincial level, but they are inactive.

Avudh Panananda

The Nation