Special LawLAB Project Marks Collaboration between Royal Thai Police and Chula’s Faculty of Law

The Royal Thai Police and the Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University, have launched “Special LawLAB: Investigations in the Age of 5G”, a pilot project to promote learning from actual experience for 2^nd-4^th year law students.  Also known as the “Young Lawyers – Police Engagement Pilot Project”, 25 students from the Faculty of Law were selected to train with police officers from six agencies, namely the Central Investigation Bureau, the Metropolitan Police Bureau, and Phaya Thai, Huai Kwang, Bang Khen, Bang Na and Phrakhanong police stations.    

The project’s opening ceremony was held on Tuesday August 30, 2022 at the Surakiat Sathirathai Auditorium, Debdvaravati Building, Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University.  Important guests at the opening ceremony included Pol. Gen. Suwat Jangyodsuk, Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police; Assistant Professor Dr. Pareena Srivanit, Dean of the Faculty of Law; and Pol. Lt. Gen. Samran Nuanma, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau.   

According to Assistant Professor Dr. Pareena Srivanit, the Royal Thai Police’s Special LawLAB shares many features with the LAWLAB initiative at Chula’s Faculty of Law.  Students participating in the project will get the opportunity to undergo practical training in investigation operations along with investigative police officers.  The aim is to provide students, who will soon graduate and become legal experts, with the opportunity to understand actual work skills and apply the experience gained to develop future laws.  At the same time, the project enables police to understand more about the people they serve, via students who are diverse and different in terms of age group and social status.    

For the law students, the benefits go on.  Not only will this pilot project provide them with the opportunity to learn and develop their knowledge and expertise, it will also help the students, as future legal experts, to understand the actual ways of working and be able to practice their skills with the assigned mentors.  Another incentive is that students will become more familiar with the Royal Thai Police and its work, which is in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) number 16 and 17, strengthening the judicial system through its work with various networks, especially with the youth.      

“Working with the youth through a network or partnership is something we are beginning to see in several countries.  England, for example, has introduced a “Youth Commission Model on Police and Crime” that allows young people to join forces and work with the police in accordance with the Police and Social Responsibility Act.  Research has shown that even if society in general still view the young as lacking in expertise and intellect, once collaborated through work, it is clear that the youth have various levels of skills and abilities that enable them to work well with others, including the police.  At the same time, such connections enable others, in this case the police officers, to better understand the perspective of the youth, who are a sample group of citizens in general. This mutual comprehension is especially important in a transitioning society that is rapidly changing. ” Asst. Prof. Dr. Pareena Srivanit concluded.  

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