Minister of Interior Sar Kheng announced an initiative to reform the National Police on account of illiteracy among some officers and reiterated a call for local authorities to provide quality public services.

Sar Keng made the remarks as he met with underwater explosive ordnance disposal forces on February 12 in Meanchey commune’s Veal village of Kampong Cham province’s Srei Santhor district.

“We are preparing for further reforms to the National Police force. There are a great many matters to address, and previously, we have introduced several reforms. I once said there have never been illiterate police in the world, but we have some,” he said.

Sar Kheng attributed the presence of illiterate officers in the police force to the Kingdom’s recent history of war, explaining that the need for officers to carry out the work at the time took priority over credentials.

“During wartime, where would we go to look for recruits who finished high school to act as the police? But now it’s different. If officers don’t even know how to read, how can they record cases when people come to complain?” he said.

Sar Kheng said there were currently nearly 4,000 illiterate police officers across the country. They have been allowed to continue their work until retirement, but new officers must be able to read proficiently and must have undergone police training as prerequisites for joining the force.

He took the occasion to call on local-level police and public officials to realise that they are the government’s frontline representatives responsible for providing quality service to the public.

“If these officials do not perform well, it reflects on the government. It will be said that the government can do nothing. This problem leads people to insult the prime minister and other ministers. In fact, it is village clerks and chiefs whose performance was inadequate.

“Therefore, we urge them to provide a good public service to the people including building roads, schools and hospitals and digging wells. They also must address problems relating to water, electricity and other issues that concern the people,” Sar Kheng said.

He said the ministry had successfully implemented the safe village-commune policy over the past 10 years, and the government would incorporate it into national policy with the goal of achieving seven key reforms.

Affiliated Network for Social Accountability executive director San Chey told The Post on February 15 that the issue of illiterate police officers was a relatively minor matter. He said the government could post specialists in each administration to ensure administrative services meet the needs of the public.

“We acknowledge that this is a difficulty. When people need services involving identity cards, they go to a police administration post. If the officers on duty are illiterate or cannot perform the administrative work, it is a disservice to the public which wastes their time and money,” he said.