Retired General Boonsang Niampradit, former supreme commander of the Armed Forces, said yesterday that his committee would do its best to reform the police force although he would not guarantee “100 per cent success”.

He said that the long-delayed appointments of high-ranking police personnel must be completed within the year. “And the selling and buying of police positions must be gone,” he said.

Boonsang heads a 36-member committee that consists of current and former police officers, experts and senior state officials.

He said yesterday that the reform panel would also take into consideration the many existing research papers on police reform. “There have been so many studies about this matter,” he said.

Boonsang also said that reform measures by his panel would take the middle path. “We will avoid all the extreme ideas,” he said.

He also said that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan had set no conditions for him to head the committee.

The panel was required to be set up under the new Constitution, and its main duty is to amend and revise the relevant laws to allow reform of the police force.

Boonsang’s committee convened for the first time yesterday at Government House in a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam. Wissanu said that Prayut had offered to help the reform panel.

The PM was pleased to issue orders under Article 44 of the interim charter if that was needed to make police reform succeed, Wissanu said.

“Amendment of the law is also possible if that is necessary,” he added.

Democrat Party politician Withaya Kaewparadai yesterday expressed optimism that reform efforts would succeed.

He urged the prime minister to supervise the Royal Thai Police directly while the reform was underway.

Veteran politician Suthep Thaugsuban, who is former secretary-general of the Democrat Party, said yesterday that this was “the best time” to reform the police force. He called for provincial police commands to be set up and for police offices in each province to operate independently.

Suthep said that such independence would help prevent the problem of selling and buying coveted police positions in certain areas.