FOR THE first time in Thailand, a mediation centre has opened in a police station . . . and it happened today at Phuket City Police Station.

The new centre is an initiative of the island's Chief Justice, Varangkana Sujaritkul, who took up her position in April.

Today the move was greeted with approval by Phuket's Chief of Police, Major General Pekad Tantipong. ''Mediation can help to improve the speed of justice,'' he said.

The example set by the court system on Phuket has shown how mediation could reduce the need for as many as 30 percent of cases going to court, he said.

Arguments involving some assaults and minor disagreements, as well as cases arising from traffic incidents, could be settled swiftly.

Mediation is seen as a potential solution for many cases where the penalty does not involve more than five years in jail.

The chief justice said mediation worked because it was convenient, speedy, fair and came at a low cost. It also helped to maitain relationships.

Two rooms have been set aside at the Phuket City police station headquarters in Chumporn Road, near the new island police headquarters in Yaowarat Road, which opened last year.

The service would be available from 8am to 8pm from today, Monday to Friday.

The Chief Justice has told Phuketwan that corruption will not be a part of the mediation process because the parties involved are inevitably in dispute.

A group of 38 trained mediators, some drawn from business and local communities, will be available to provide the expertise for settlement of different kinds of disputes.

The mediation system introduced by Chief Justice Varangkana in the courts earned the accolade Phuketwan Phuket Innovation of the Year 2009.

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