Hi all,

Just curious to know what the function of the tourist police is in CM, who are they, what are their duties and qualifications, how can they help us, how do we contact them, do they have an office / office hours etc etc.

Any info, as always, would be appreciated.

Regards,

Hill16

This is an extract from The Amazing Thailand Website. If you google Thai Tourist Police all will be revealed.

With the growth of tourism over the last 30 years a special unit has been set up by the Royal Thai Police force to deal with the safety and well-being of tourists. The officers of the Tourist Police wear a distinctive badge on the their arm and speak English and some other European languages. They can be called upon in all kinds of situations, such as road traffic accidents, theft, disputes with hotels or shop keepers where a foreign tourist is involved. They will act as arbitrators on disputes, and in our experience they do so in an unbiased fashion.

Chaing Mai

105/1 Chiangmai-Lamphoon Rd.,

Tambon Watkate, Muang District

Chiang Mai 50000

Tel.(053) 248974, 248130 Fax. (053)248974

Usually very fair. Maybe they are a tad prejudiced in favour of the foreigners.

Usually very fair. Maybe they are a tad prejudiced in favour of the foreigners.

They do tend to be extremely fair, and usually are able to work out a good solution to a problem. As for being prejudiced in favor of the farang... I think that when a tourist is visiting a foreign country, they are usually under a lot of stress that they wouldn't ordinarily face in their home countries. Having someone with a bit of authority 'helping' them in a difficult situation goes a long way in terms of public relations. But you are correct. They do tend to be more supportive of the foreigners. As a foreigner myself, I tend not to complain too much about this.