Big Trouble In Tourist Thailand

[crudy21]

Give these guys a break <deleted>, they are here to help you!

[cdnvic]

Let's stop the sniping shall we? I'll grant you that these positions sometimes attract the wrong people, but believe it or not there are many people out there who are willing to volunteer for the benefit of their community, even if it does mean getting dumped on in return. Try cutting them some slack by not judging them all by the few bad ones.

[t1401]

Fascinating topic with amazing revelations available on a search here about these foreign police volunteers working in Thailand and their non-standard police tactics. I noticed it seems like this is a popular topic given the number of results that came back. I also noted a lot of unanswered questions in many of these threads regarding a whole host of issues about them. Perhaps they will finally be answered in this new show.

PATTAYA VOLUNTEER POLICE INDULGE IN UZBEK STING OPERATION

...The foreign undercover officers made arrangements with the four Uzbek women for sexual services at the Pattaya Inn Hotel, Soi B.J., Walking Street, South Pattaya, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi, Rooms 203, 206 and 207. When the love making sessions were concluded, the prostitutes asked for 2,000 baht each. The undercover representatives gave a total of 8,000 baht to the women, and the police placed them under arrest.

- Pattaya Daily News

UNDERCOVER STING NETS THREE MORE UZBEK PROSTITUTES

The Pattaya Immigration Police sent foreign undercover police volunteers, in a sting operation, to purchase sexual services from Uzbek women. The police managed to nab three Uzbek prostitutes and two Thai men, who were their agents.

On 20 September 2007, at 2 AM, Police Colonel Ithiphol Ithisarn-ronachai, Pattaya Immigration Superintendent was informed of a Thai agency that provided Uzbek prostitutes to clients in Pattaya City. Pattaya Immigration set up a sting operation, along with Police Lieutenant Colonel Prasart Kemaprasit, Central Immigration Investigator, and sent three foreign undercover police volunteers to arrange for female prostitutes from the Thai agency.

The three foreign undercover volunteers, with 4500 baht in their pockets, met with Mr. Sathaporn Jaiyos (39), from Utaradit Province, and Mr. Amornsit Chainam (33), from Ubonrachathani Province, in front of the V.C. Hotel, in South Pattaya, to buy sexual services from three Uzbek women.

- Pattaya Daily News

[ucantbeserious]

i wonder if some of these volunteers might like to give us an honest and true account of the Tourist Police and what they do.

Since they are so close to the action, they must know the modus operandi.

there's an old saying, "you can tell a man by the company he keeps".

All my experiences with police and tourist police are simple and predictable.

they do nothing,

except if they can make money out of you they will do something to get the money.

i reckon they might do 2 things,

break up fights.

take down theft reports for insurance claims.

i guess thats slightly helpful.

love to know the inside dirt, i bet i won't see it on that tv doco,

i bet the volunteers won't be telling us either.

[KhunAussie52]

you admit you have no powers of arrest but yet you carry a truncheon and handcuffs? for what? i don't doubt

many of you are noble-minded and have your heart in the right place about this but unfortunately this type of volunteering

often attracts exactly the wrong kind of people who get ah......confused about what their actual role is when in uniform.

It might attract some farangs with the wrong intentions,yet at the course i attended in udon,there were 3 new farang volunteers and 40-50 thai.........so let us have some balance in the discussion.

I remember a few years ago when we had a very cold winter by Thai standards.Volunteers raised money for blankets for the poor in the north of the country.these blankets were then distributed by volunteers,both Thai and farang.hard work,so rewarding.1000's were given!

One day, you, or someone you know, might need the assistance of the tourist police.give them a break.it is a tough job at times.!!!!

"you carry a truncheon and handcuffs? for what?"

for protection from drunken,sometimes abusive and intimidating Farangs.

It seems that many of you,have already made your mind up about this topic.

my reply to you in Thai is"som nom na"

thanks,give them a brake,do not be to judgmental.i think this topic should be closed,enough mud slinging against those who give of there time,both Thai and Farang.

[cdnvic]

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. So long as it remains civil we'll keep it open.

[cali4995]

udonfarang52, you seem so quick to anger? reasonable discussion doesn't appear possible with you? do you have the

right temperment to be wearing a police uniform? i was always civil and you immediately begin insulting by calling me

"ignorant"? you appear to have such a low opinion of tourists it does beg the question why you are a tourist-police-

assistant-volunteer? i was never against such an organization but i feel they either need to be given legitimate powers

or disbanded because at present their hands are tied to do any real enforcement where in fact maybe they could do

things the regular police aren't interested in. i mean, as it is you're just window dressing for their promotion show?

Edited August 24, 2009 by cali4995

[KhunAussie52]

"udonfarang52, you seem so quick to anger"

It would be much better if you kept you personal opinions to yourself.I do not get angry,no need to.i have been coming to Thailand for 40 years,settled here 5 years ago.

i am simply defending hard working volunteers,who give a great deal of there time,to assist those in need ,be it,Thai or farang.

get your priorities right!!!

[mca]

Genuine question but where would a volunteer legally stand if they cracked somebody over the head with their retractable truncheon?

[KhunAussie52]

A further brief comment.if some of the forum, want the volunteer program for Tourist police volunteers ended, so be it.Start a lobby group!!!!

How many members of the forum,volunteer to assist the community in which they live.reasonable question under the circumstances.

In self defense only,i repeat,in self defense only.......never had to use it.......good communication,an ability to assess and respond to a threatening situation in the least provocative manner.That is what we are advised during training!!!!

Genuine question but where would a volunteer legally stand if they cracked somebody over the head with their retractable truncheon?

You should have added,under what circumstances would a volunteer have to use his of her baton.Only for self defense.i repeat self defense only.

And as a last resort!!!!!!

[jfchandler]

I for one would like to hear from any of the farang police volunteers...what exactly do the THAI Tourist Police do day in and out????

And how does their role intersect with the role of the regular Thai police in whatever area they're working???

In other words, if a farang gets into some trouble with the regular BIB, what if any is the role of the tourist police,...or..they stay out of it.... And they only do their own work/cases???

And what about the often heard complaint, true or not, that most of the Thai tourist police cannot speak rudimentary English???

Serious questions...serious answers appreciated....

[KhunAussie52]

Successful Farang Police For 20 years, Per Butler has been a traveller. He owns a travel agency called Wild Kingdom Tours in Phuket. Today, beside guiding information to tourists on the island, Butler also works as a foreigner volunteer tourist police officer. By Frank Jensen Per Butler in his 'volunteer police' uniform. Per set up Wild Kingdom Tours offering jungle tours to tourists in Phuket. On Per Butler’s uniform, it reads ‘Tourist Police Volunteer Phuket’. As a voluntary member of the tourist police force he patrols the streets of Patong Beach a couple of nights a month.

“Tourists are glad we are on the streets, as it makes it easier for them to come in contact with the police, but they usually look at us twice, when we walk down the street in our uniforms. The first time they just look briefly at us, but then they have to take another look to believe that their eyes did not deceive them. They just do not expect to see Farangs wearing uniforms in Thailand,” he laughs. Per Butler said that the main purpose of the volunteer tourist police is to help tourists get a nice and safe holiday in Thailand and to assist the Thai Police with translation if tourists get into trouble.

The volunteers usually assist tourists with minor things. If the tourists have lost the keys or had a few drinks too many to remember which hotel they stay at, the volunteer police is there to help. But tourists can get them self into major trouble in no time and need assistance from the volunteer police. Thanks to some of Per Butler’s colleagues an Austrian tourist got out of a potentially very serious situation.

According to Per Butler the Austrian man went jet skiing on the last day of his Phuket holiday. When he got back to the beach, he realized he was in serious trouble. Apparently he had hit a Thai diver on the head with the jet skis. The diver was knocked unconscious and drowned and the Austrian guy did not even know that he had hit him.

“He could be facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, but my colleagues helped him talking to the Thai Police. In the end the Thai Police realized that the diver had been diving illegally and without any marking, so instead of going to jail, the Austrian tourist was released and made his scheduled flight home that night,” Per Butler explains.

“Every time a VIP from Bangkok arrives at Phuket, we are asked to show up, so the VIP can have their picture taken with us !!!!!

Edited August 24, 2009 by Udonfarang52

[KhunAussie52]

As a regular visitor to Thailand over the last 20 years and a frequent tourist and now resident of Phuket I am most impressed with the Tourist Police "Farang" Volunteers.

It is highly commendable that these people give up their spare time on this Island Paradise to help others.

As a frequent visitor to Bangla Road in Patong, I have often seen these Volunteers assisting tourists and they have been helpful to my friends and family whilst visiting. It was a welcome relief to be able to speak to someone in English and get a clear answer.

Thank you for making Phuket a safer place.

Keep up the great work.

P

these are tourist who have had there say on TP volunteers,we need some balance to the discussion

Application form for TP volunteers

http://www.thai-touristpolice.org/application.php

Volunteers are chosen from many backgrounds.the importance of speaking a language other that English is encouraged.we are not all English speaking tourists.

Edited August 24, 2009 by cdnvic

[cdnvic]

Ok, I just deleted and merged about a dozen or more posts from a single member, most of it cut/pastes from elsewhere. If the flooding continues there will be some forced time out for the offender. It's one think to make a point, quite another to go overboard about it.

[HalfSquat]

Are the tourist police English then?

edit: sorry, just saw the other replies.

Edited August 24, 2009 by HalfSquat

[KhunAussie52]

Let's stop the sniping shall we? I'll grant you that these positions sometimes attract the wrong people, but believe it or not there are many people out there who are willing to volunteer for the benefit of their community, even if it does mean getting dumped on in return. Try cutting them some slack by not judging them all by the few bad ones.

Thank you...........appreciated!!!

[barky]

With this programme airing, it may go someway to letting people know Thailand a little more closely and hopefully accurately, and not be glossed over like some TAT advertisment. Although we may never know if or how much the Thai authorities influenced the series to ensure the programme was biased towards showing Thailand and Thais only in a good light and how well they "take care of" visitors.

It may come to light that the fact is there are far too many instances where Thais, particularly the authorities, do not treat visitors, particulaly westeners, well at all.

In principle, I do not like the idea of volunteer police as, as said in other posts, this force can attract all the wrong kinds of people on some sort of ego trip or other. And, the idea of westeners helping the local racist/xenophobic BIB against their own kind smacks of treachery (Thais would never help westeners against Thais). And to think these volunteers are not given residency or citizenship as a reward for there work! Also, as evidenced in an earlier post "foreign police volunteers helping the Thias in "sting" opperations against westeners. I mean how is that helping visitors "in need"? Doing the cops dirty work. I mean in this kind of opperation what's in it for the volunteer?

What are the Thai tourist police doing? Answer, Nothing...useless (the fact is they would almost never take an aliens side in any dispute with a Thai).

Just like their cousins the regular BIBs they are never "pro-active" in preventing crime/problems. They just turn up for the photo shoot with their stupid cheesy smug grins after the dust has settled.

Why does any country need special torist police in the first place ? Answer, xenophobia!

However, having said all that, I think it commendable that those with honourable intentions give up their time to (in their way of thinking) help other westeners that may be in need of some assistance even if that assistance is limited. It is possible that with a volunteer policeman aroud at the time of an incident it may go some way in ensuring that the Thias don't hand out some summary lynch mob justice and they may ensure some reason and fair play is provided to the westener.

[KhunAussie52]

TP volunteers are from many different countries,many languages are spoken,not just English!!!

I serve under the foreign Tourist Police CadetsVolunteers, but am often invited also to participate with the Thai Tourist Police Volunteers who live in our village. One Saturday we joined with 51 young cadets in planting mangrove trees on the shoreline of a sea village on the south east side of the island. We met first at a special education school and then loaded up buses and cars and travelled to the village. They greeted us with flower lays, for the dignitaries, and for some reason thought I was one, and lots of ice water. It was an all day event. I think we planted about 400 trees in the mud. The Moslem community we served really appreciated all the volunteers coming, they participated in the planting too and prepared a nice lunch.

Bus from the school Tourist Police

Community The trees

Distributing the trees for planting Planting

Muslim woman from the community planting

I suggest those interested,should check this site out.........A great discussion worthy of Thaivisa.....thanks to all !!!

http://www.wildkingdomtours.com/Volunteer%20Police1.pdf

With this programme airing, it may go someway to letting people know Thailand a little more closely and hopefully accurately, and not be glossed over like some TAT advertisment. Although we may never know if or how much the Thai authorities influenced the series to ensure the programme was biased towards showing Thailand and Thais only in a good light and how well they "take care of" visitors.

It may come to light that the fact is there are far too many instances where Thais, particularly the authorities, do not treat visitors, particulaly westeners, well at all.

In principle, I do not like the idea of volunteer police as, as said in other posts, this force can attract all the wrong kinds of people on some sort of ego trip or other. And, the idea of westeners helping the local racist/xenophobic BIB against their own kind smacks of treachery (Thais would never help westeners against Thais). And to think these volunteers are not given residency or citizenship as a reward for there work! Also, as evidenced in an earlier post "foreign police volunteers helping the Thias in "sting" opperations against westeners. I mean how is that helping visitors "in need"? Doing the cops dirty work. I mean in this kind of opperation what's in it for the volunteer?

What are the Thai tourist police doing? Answer, Nothing...useless (the fact is they would almost never take an aliens side in any dispute with a Thai).

Just like their cousins the regular BIBs they are never "pro-active" in preventing crime/problems. They just turn up for the photo shoot with their stupid cheesy smug grins after the dust has settled.

Why does any country need special torist police in the first place ? Answer, xenophobia!

However, having said all that, I think it commendable that those with honourable intentions give up their time to (in their way of thinking) help other westeners that may be in need of some assistance even if that assistance is limited. It is possible that with a volunteer policeman aroud at the time of an incident it may go some way in ensuring that the Thias don't hand out some summary lynch mob justice and they may ensure some reason and fair play is provided to the westener.

read this ,one day you might need there help!!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 2:10 pm Post subject: 'Farang' Pattaya police squad a force to be reckoned with

Farang 'squad' a force to be reckoned with

Bangkok Post/Maxmilian Wechsler Jan 25, 2009

They're expats helping local police help tourists in Pattaya, but not all visitors are happy with their public presence on the streets

Amid the neon kitsch, thumping disco music and caged go-go girls of Pattaya's notorious Walking Street they're hard to miss. In the real world they are journalists, businessmen and retirees from around the world. But when the sun goes down they don the military-style black uniforms of Foreign Tourist Police Assistants (FTPA) and patrol the streets with local police offering help to foreign visitors.

FIRST AID: Foreign Tourist Police Assistants Lewis Hurst, left, and Freddy Meekers help revive a drunken woman near the Pattaya Tourist police mobile unit on Walking street (Bangkok Post article photo)

The job is unpaid volunteer work, and they pay for their own uniforms and equipment.

''We have to report every incident we deal with. Even our meeting here, I will write in a report tonight,'' Briton Howard Miller, 36, the FTPA's group leader, tells Spectrum. ''We all love Thailand and that's why we're here _ to serve the tourists.''

Police Captain Suprapan Phothiphirom from the Tourist Police station in Pattaya said the FTPA's job is to ensure the safety and security of foreign tourists and give them information and assistance.

''We have always faced a shortage of Tourist Police personnel, especially ones who can speak different languages,'' he said.

On a recent Friday night, Spectrum went on patrol with the tourist police and their foreign assistants along Walking Street, which stretches 750 metres and is closed to traffic from 7pm to 3am.

At about 8:30pm the foreign assistants and Thai volunteers began to set up, as they do every night, their mobile unit. Desks and chairs were placed in the middle of the street with bottles of drinking water and a box for donations.

Shortly after, a white Tourist Police van arrived and was parked across the street. A large TV monitor to show public relations videos was then placed on the vehicle.

By 9pm, about 30 people which included assistants, local volunteers and two policemen were in place, sitting or standing around and waiting for something to happen.

The scene drew a lot of attention from the many foreigners and Thais alike who were streaming past. They were surprised to see such a large group of people in full ''battle-dress'' in the middle of a tourist resort. Many stared, especially at the assistants, wondering who they were and what they are up to.

A group of Russian women with their families appeared confused and even frightened, asking their male companions: ''Look at this. What is going on here. Is there a problem? Let's get out of here.''

Tourists from other countries questioned the purpose of the mobile unit, whether it was really necessary, and whether it could be done with less visibility.

The presence of the foreign assistants sporting handcuffs, batons, radios and other gadgets on their belts made some people feel uneasy.

Some local volunteers wearing army boots and berets appeared totally out of place in the middle of an entertainment area crammed with bar girls offering their services.

Paradoxically, two Thai policemen who have the authority to arrest and to carry weapons were wearing jackets to cover their uniforms and were walking around unobtrusively.

The only incident occured at about 10:30pm, when a woman was found lying intoxicated on Walking Street. She was brought to the mobile unit on a tourist police golf car equipped with police lights and received first-aid from the volunteers and a tattooed foreign assistant who poured water on her head.

THE BEGINNING

With thousands of foreign tourists flocking to Pattaya every year, the Thai Tourist Police _ which has about 40 officers _ relies a great deal on the foreign assistants.

''We started the project in 1994, first with the Thai Tourist Police Volunteers, which now numbers 369, and later we added the FTPA component to it,'' said Capt Suprapan. ''Now we have about 30 assistants, which is not enough. We would like to recruit more people, particularly the ones who can speak Italian, Korean and Russian. We need also women, something very hard to find.''

But the ''farang police'', despite their good intentions, have been subject to criticism, particularly over what people see as their intimidating black uniforms, their imposing appearance and the carrying of handcuffs and batons. Questions have also been raised about whether proper background checks are conducted on applicants.

Capt Suprapan said that foreigners who want to join the FTPA must come to his office with a passport and fill out an application form. Applicants with a non-immigrant visa are preferred because they can be granted a one-year extension. A tourist visa is not acceptable.

''We will send the information to immigration to conduct a background check. After that, we will investigate what the person has been doing in Pattaya and in Thailand. We don't check the person's history from his native country, but in some cases, we will do so with the embassy,'' the captain explained.

''As for qualifications, the most important thing is that the person really wants to help the Tourist Police and has enough time to work. If accepted, we will send the new recruit to our Tourist Police mobile unit on Walking Street positioned there every night for training with our assistants. This will last about three months, which is also the probation period. If the trainee performs well then he will become an assistant and receive an identification card.''

Capt Suprapan said qualified assistants carry a baton, gloves, handcuffs, a torch and a radio. He stressed that they can only assist Thai police to help subdue suspects when an arrest is made.

Mr Miller, who has lived in Thailand for seven years and joined the FTPA six years ago, says they are very careful about who they will accept and said everyone has a long-stay or retirement visa. The youngest foreign assistant is Anthony, 32, from Ireland, and the oldest, Ciro, 72, from Italy.

''I'm actually a journalist who did an interview for a local TV station with a police officer on Walking Street and I joined afterwards because I thought it would be a good idea,'' said Mr Miller, who has extensive media interests in Pattaya, including a radio station and an online news service.

British retiree Paul Harrison, 49, has been with the FTPA for about three years and is one of the group's two team leaders. ''I joined the FTPA because I want to help people,'' he said. ''We're not spies. We follow very strict rules to select who will be admitted into the FTPA.''

Mr Miller says new recruits undergo three days of training before the three-month pro bation period and are from countries as diverse as China, India, Norway and Pakistan. Some undergo further training to qualify as parachutists and undergo a practical pistol shooting course, said Mr Miller, although these skills are not necessary for the job. A few of them even sported badges showing they had qualified in these areas on their uniforms.

''We are foreigners in a foreign land and that's why we have to be very careful of who we let in our group,'' Mr Miller said. ''We don't want to cause any problems for the Thai police because they are ultimately responsible for our unit. We have very strict admission procedures.''

Capt Suprapan said the working relationship between the Tourist Police, the volunteers and the assistants was excellent. ''We're like a family.

''The assistants and the volunteers receive no salary and have to buy uniforms and equipment with their own money,'' he added.

WORKING STIFFS

The nightly patrols usually comprise 10 foreign assistants, 14 Thai volunteers and four policemen who cover Walking Street from 9pm until 3am.

Mr Miller concedes that sometimes they had to deal with uncooperative foreigners. ''This is mainly because they don't really understand what we do. They might look at foreigners in uniform in a foreign country and say: 'Look at that ...'''

Mr Miller said they were not authorised to conduct investigations. ''If we receive information about some serious cases, we will forward the matter to the police,'' he said.

''As for arrests, which actually happen very rarely, we have a strict rule of engagement. The Tourist Police officers must know what we are doing. We are foreigners here so we have to be very careful.''

The assistants are trained to deal with different situations, such as a drunk causing a disturbance, and also have to learn first aid and basic fire-fighting skills.

''We have dealt with thousands of cases over the years,'' Mr Miller said. ''The one I will never forget was when we were called to a hotel in central Pattaya after an Englishman who stabbed his wife to death in a bar barricaded himself in a corridor of the hotel and was trying to slash his arm. We managed to overpower him before he could harm himself,'' he said.

Mr Miller said the foreign assistants had been involved in only one undercover operation which involved prostitutes from Uzbekistan. But he said it was difficult for them to go undercover as their faces were well-known on Walking Street.

Mr Harrison said his most unforgettable experience was a fire at the Marine Plaza Hotel in 2006.

''We got there before the fire brigade did. A few of us went inside and found a Thai girl stuck in the smoke on the stairway. I dragged her out, otherwise she would most probably have died from smoke inhalation. We rescued several more people as well,'' he said.

But the day-to-day work can be a bit more routine. ''On January 15, a bar called us because two foreign customers refused to pay 3,065 baht for 21 lady drinks and three of their own,'' he said. ''We were able to reduce the amount considerably. As for the two foreigners, it was their first day in Pattaya, so they didn't understand what was going on here.''

Capt Suprapan said the volunteers had been useful during last year's closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports, helping a lot of tourists diverted to nearby U-Tapao airport. ''Many wondered who they were as they wore uniforms with logos, but were grateful for their assistance anyhow.''

MEN IN BLACK

While some might see the black uniform worn by the foreign assistants and the military boots and berets of their Thai counterparts as intimidating, Mr Miller argues they are practical. ''Because the climate in Pattaya is very hot, it is not practical for us to wear a white or light-coloured shirt as they will show sweat and stains,'' he said. ''Black shirts look smart and they do show a little bit of authority.''

Mr Harrison said they were selected after careful consideration. ''We did some trials with different colours considering the heat, the dirt, etc.'' he said. ''We found that the black shirt is more durable, lightweight and it lets the body breath. It is easy to wash and iron. We wanted a shirt that will give us some respect as well.'' Mr Miller said he had only drawn his baton two or three times in self defence.

Edited August 24, 2009 by cdnvic

[KhunAussie52]

fine by me!!!!

[MrJohnson]

are the volunteers wearing their black paramilitary outfits with attached riot gear in the TV spot? they should

be wearing polo shirts and shorts, sorry, but they bring all the negative impressions down upon themselves don't they?

I cannot believe your ignorance.......the uniform design is different in many provinces,we have no say in the design,yet in many cases,we pay for all our equipment.In Udon,the uniform has changed a number of times.I did not see any "riot gear".

Volunteers are allowed to carry a retractable truncheon,handcuffs.....and that is it.They have no powers of arrest,must accompany a Thai Tourist Police officer when on duty.Any intervention on behalf of volunteers,would require a a please assist from a serving officer.

May i suggest you tag along and see what abuse you cop from some drunken tourists.To far gone to care.

Paramilitary outfits..........rubbish!!!!

Seems to me your stirring the pot!!!!!!

go and have a look at the outfits in Pattaya Pal. Black paramilitary they definitely are - and they seem to make the lads wearing them feel pretty tough - swaggering about doing their Rambo thing. Let the Thai police do their thing. Enough of the psuedos

[jfchandler]

It certainly would be good, and worthwhile, to be able to volunteer for one's appropriate cause here in Thailand...

Unfortunately, with the exception of Tourist Police volunteer service, as best as I can tell, all other forms of volunteer service in Thailand (teaching, tutoring, non-profits, etc.) by Thai law require the volunteer to jump thru the hoops and expense of obtaining and renewing a Thai work permit or face possible arrest for violating the country's immigration law.

How many members of the forum,volunteer to assist the community in which they live.reasonable question under the circumstances.

[cali4995]

it would appear that the only viewpoint on this thread which is acceptable is "udonfarang52's" who i respectfully submit

is starting to come-off as mildly psychotic. again, if they were in polo shirts and shorts and their duties were clearly

outlined to them we would not have all this fantasy-role playing. wearing police clothes, swaggering about like actual

officers complete with pepper spray, truncheons, and handcuffs when you're not actual police and have no authority

whatsoever is called "impersonating a police officer" in many countries. Yes, pehaps it's all better left only to the Thais.

[KhunAussie52]

are the volunteers wearing their black paramilitary outfits with attached riot gear in the TV spot? they should

be wearing polo shirts and shorts, sorry, but they bring all the negative impressions down upon themselves don't they?

I cannot believe your ignorance.......the uniform design is different in many provinces,we have no say in the design,yet in many cases,we pay for all our equipment.In Udon,the uniform has changed a number of times.I did not see any "riot gear".

Volunteers are allowed to carry a retractable truncheon,handcuffs.....and that is it.They have no powers of arrest,must accompany a Thai Tourist Police officer when on duty.Any intervention on behalf of volunteers,would require a a please assist from a serving officer.

May i suggest you tag along and see what abuse you cop from some drunken tourists.To far gone to care.

Paramilitary outfits..........rubbish!!!!

Seems to me your stirring the pot!!!!!!

go and have a look at the outfits in Pattaya Pal. Black paramilitary they definitely are - and they seem to make the lads wearing them feel pretty tough - swaggering about doing their Rambo thing. Let the Thai police do their thing. Enough of the psuedos

For a start,i am not your pal.i have a name.Secondly,you seem to be judging a book by it's cover.i have come to expect this sought of response from some members of this forum.I would just consider you an Ignorant person with no true understanding of the word volunteer.

[cdnvic]

I'm serious, next bit of name calling earns someone a break.

[KhunAussie52]

Seems to me,that some throw words around,without very little thought .I will defend the TP volunteers. As they,under very difficult circumstances,try to assist where ever they can.

How many members of this forum,have volunteered to work with any organization in Thailand?

I give my time unreservedly.

Psychotic,maybe.I am a Vietnam veteran with P.T.S.D,so i suppose you might be right there.Yet, i do not need to be called this word in an open forum such as this.Served my country,done my time!!!!!!

[KhunAussie52]

I'm serious, next bit of name calling earns someone a break.

Then i do not like a forum member calling me Psychotic,totally uncalled for!!!!!!!!

[cdnvic]

Everyone just calm down. Let's not get all worked up over this.

[hm1973]

Everyone just calm down. Let's not get all worked up over this.

Normal for a thread like this, which is why I stopped posting here a while ago.

I suggest everyone watch the program first before getting excited. Althernatively, we welcome people who reside in Pattaya to come and speak to us face-to-face about what we do. We are more than happy to explain everything, but not on chat forums anymore.

Enjoy the show!!!

[KhunAussie52]

I am looking forward to watching to the show.....as for me,i am always calm.......i have great medication!!!!!!!!

[KhunAussie52]

Have a great day everyone!!!!