Vietnam to slash police numbers to increase efficiency

Vietnam is planning to streamline its police service by reducing staff numbers following a directive issued by the Politburo, the Communist Party's all-powerful decision-making body.

The Ministry of Public Security has been ordered to restructure its system to "build a focused and lean machine" for "effective work," it said late on Monday. No specific numbers have been revealed.

The plan will scale down staff numbers in units related to education, media and healthcare in the police force.

Firefighters will also be reassigned so that they can work closely with colleagues in nearby cities and provinces.

The plan will also move police officers to crime hotspots.

Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security has six general departments and two high commands, and under each of them are dozens of small units. Some of these will be scrapped as part of the plan.

In late 2016, the ministry stopped recruiting new officers and limited the number of students that enrolled in its military schools.

The Vietnamese government has 2.8 million people on its payroll, according to local media.

The size of its public sector compared to the population is among the biggest in Southeast Asia, according to the World Bank.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered government offices last year to reduce staff numbers by between 1.5 and 2 percent every year over the next five years to save costs.

Vietnamese state workers are paid a basic wage of VND1.3 million ($57) a month, which is set to increase to VND1.39 million from July. The minimum monthly pay is calculated by multiplying the basic wage with a coefficient determined by qualifications and experience.