The National Police: 66th Anniversary

The local daily paper, Koh Santepheap,  reports today  on a ceremony to celebrate the 66th Anniversary of the Cambodian National under Vice PM and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng. This reminds me of many years of service there.
    I joined this Department in 1958 after 2 years of training, then took a break to continue the senior level at the Royal School of Administration and completed in 1961 and returned to continue to serve in that agency. In the fall of 1962 I took another break and left to France for an internship with the Fench National Police for a year. In 1963 I came back to Cambodia and served until the fall of the Khmer Republic in mid April 1975.
    During those years I was assigned to the special branch called "Police Speciale", a combination of intelligence and national security fighting the Khmer Rouge and the Khmer Serey. After the 1970 Revolution with the destitution of Prince Sihanouk I continued to serve as Deputy Director of the Polise Speciale promoting later to Director General of the National Police, Under Security of State for National Security, and briefy as Minister of National Security before the fall of the country to the Khmer Rouge.
   In the old time the National Police was under the Ministry of National Security, then under the Ministry of Interior and back to the Ministry of National Security, and now back to the Ministry of Interior.
    Like before, the National Defense "Gendarmerie" was also having police function. The system was inherited from the french system, but unlike in France where the Gendarmerie was serving only in the countryside, in Cambodia the Gendarmerie served also in cities. This law enforcement system may lead to competition among the military and the civilian forces that sometime create problem to the general public.
    The Cambodian National Police was a fear full agency under the famous Hok Landy rules, but he was killed 2 years ago struck by a lightning while traveling in a helicopter to Svay Rieng... I hope that the new Director whould run the Force more humanely.