The latest attempt at police reform has not won the confidence of police officers on the street who fear it will end up as a farce.
A senior officer in the Central Investigation Bureau, who declined to be named, said police reform would be pointless if politicians or the military exert their influence over the RTP.
Also, a chief inspector was blunt in his prediction of the outcome of the reform. "It won't do any good. Will it earn us a bigger budget for investigation missions? I don't think so," he said.
A deputy superintendent with the Metropolitan Police Bureau complained he has not been promoted in 20 years despite an unblemished record.
"Climbing up the career ladder is a huge battle without the patronage of certain superiors. This is what the reforms must tackle most urgently otherwise it will suck the morale right out of us," he said.
Last week, the Police Watch group urged the government to review the police members of the reform panel, claiming many of them had paid lip service to reform when they occupied important posts in the RTP.
Starting from July 15, the group will hold public forums to brainstorm how to shape the police force, in parallel with the reform panel. The outcomes of the sessions will be presented to the panel.
The public is split over whether the Gen Boonsrang Niumpradit-led police reform panel is likely to succeed, according to an opinion poll by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University.
The poll was conducted on July 5-8 and surveyed 1,082 people throughout the country.
Asked how they thought it would go, 38% said they believe it will fulfil its mandate while 36% said it was unlikely to be successful; 24% said they were uncertain.
Also, 77% of respondents said the police force should have been reformed long ago, considering its accumulated problems; 72% said reform would help restore the police's reputation; 62% said there are both good and bad people in the force; and 54% said reforming the police will be an uphill task, requiring great effort and co-operation.
On problems related to the police that need urgent reform, the taking of bribes came out top (81%), followed by abuse of power (74%), position-buying (64%), low salaries (59%) and the centralisation of power (55%).