Thai Police In The Pink?

[teddy_bare]

I just caught the last minute of the morning show (US TV).

It said thai police would have to wear a pink armband if found guilt of not doing their duty. They show pictures of a youngish police officer having one put on.

Unfortunately the report was cut short by my middle eastern satelitte provider.

Any truth in this.

If true, some of them will look like Mr Blobby from the UK after a few weeks.

Edited August 9, 2007 by teddy_bare

[teddy_bare]

Apparently so:

Wayward police officers must wear pink armbands of shame in Bangkok

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

By Seth Mydans

Published: August 7, 2007

BANGKOK: It is the pink armband of shame for wayward police officers, as cute as can be with a Hello Kitty face and a pair of linked hearts.

Park in the wrong place, come to work late or drop a bit of litter, and an officer will be decorated with the latest insignia for the Thai police, no matter how many ribbons for valor he may already wear.

"Simple warnings no longer work," said Pongpat Chayaphan, acting chief of the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, who instituted the new humiliation this week.

"This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor," he said. "Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It's not something macho police officers want covering their biceps."

Ten of the armbands have been prepared but none had been issued as of Tuesday, said an officer who declined to give his name while discussing this sensitive topic.

An aide, Major Weeraprach Wonrat, said the chief was a believer in behavioral science and in the "broken window theory" in which small changes can have large effects.

Pink armbands for misdemeanors are a start. Stronger measures could be next for corruption and extrajudicial killings.

An early experiment in armbands was not encouraging.

When he first came in, Pongpat tried tartan. Ten tartan armbands were issued. But instead of feeling shame, Weeraprach said, the officers took them home as souvenirs.

Only one tartan arm band remains.

Commanders met again to consider strategy, he said, and agreed that Hello Kitty might work where tartan had failed.

So far, he said, there is no fallback plan. The department has not yet decided what punishment to impose if officers make off with their pink armbands as well.

Pink_Thai.bmp

[the scouser]

Moved to general topics sub-forum.

Scouse.

[londonthai]

there are more recent threads on this same subject:

in the general forum

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=134150

and news forum

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=134081

Edited August 9, 2007 by londonthai

[toptuan]

Stronger measures for extrajudicial killings? Perhaps a black armband for that? What a devastating punishment for murder!!!

[doctormann]

I reckon that having to wear a Hello Kitty armand (a pink one at that!) would constitute an enormous loss of face for the individual policeman concerned. We all know just how important 'face' is in LoS so this might just be a very effective deterrent.

DM

[lazeeboy]

I reckon that having to wear a Hello Kitty armand (a pink one at that!) would constitute an enormous loss of face for the individual policeman concerned. We all know just how important 'face' is in LoS so this might just be a very effective deterrent.

DM

give it 2 weeks and the whole force will be wearing pink ............................