Big Trouble In Tourist Thailand

[britmaveric]

And u are confident they are alone? (remember you are only seeing what the cam lets you see) From what I have seen the norm is always a Thai Tourist Police is present.

I'd wager that the handcuffs are more for show and never been used. If you notice for the most part everyone cooperates and no handcuffs are necessary.

How about it HM, ever used the cuffs?

Edited September 28, 2009 by britmaveric

[MrPlumbs]

I actually think that the program is a great advert for Thailand (the crime side is nothing you wouldn't see in any other tourist city). The camera teams have gone around Thailand to show the UK audience the beauty of Thailand which is a big part of the series.

It is filmed in a very "funky" way as it is on a channel which targets young guys.

I have seen rough cuts of the show and it looks good.

You are joking - A great advert for Thailand!!

I have it on great authority that this show is causing a big stir in Bangkok among Thai officials.

filming release permissions have been withdrawn, although it's probably too late.

I have been down here over 10 years now and have had no run-ins with TPVs

although my wife and I ate at the restaurant overlooking the TPV outpost on walking street

a month or so back. We counted 27 vounteers around the minibus. I won't mention that 4 were

playing a networked game of shooting each other on their laptops. 27! blocking the entrance to walking street.

after our meal, we went for a stroll along the beach with it's mixed characters of the night.

Why on earth don't the volunteer police patrol the beach at night, y'know a couple of farangs with a REAL tourist police officer.

be far less late night muggings don't you think? might help a few of the FTP to work of their gut a bit of beat work.

Personally I think Thai fluency is a MUST for a liaison officer in THAILAND

and finally why on earth do they need parachute training, just for the badge?

a bit of constructive critism, hope it helps.....

[Deksan]

britmaveric

I just hope for their well being and safety that they arent alone because it could turn out nasty one day.

[Penkoprod]

And u are confident they are alone? (remember you are only seeing what the cam lets you see) From what I have seen the norm is always a Thai Tourist Police is present.

I'd wager that the handcuffs are more for show and never been used. If you notice for the most part everyone cooperates and no handcuffs are necessary.

How about it HM, ever used the cuffs?

I've seen them down WS two at a time, on their own and with NO Thai Tourist Police in sight

And why HAVE the cuffs if they arent being used. More "Roscoe P Coltraine" attitudes from them if that WERE the case.

No use asking HM....he only cherrypicks what he wants to answer

Penkoprod

[Mark Wolfe]

Mark Wolfe:

From the online application form for the Thai Royal Tourist Police: ( application online)

4. Volunteers understand that being a volunteer is to assist the work of a police officer and not act on behalf of a police officer

5. Volunteers should not be involved in activities such as arrests, interrogations, investigations or inspections

I'd like one of the Pattaya volunteers to look at numbers 4 and 5 above and reconcile their activities with them. It would be hard to say that each location has its own rules when the central application so clearly states what is acceptable.

I'm sorry, did no one read this?

Mr. Howard posted after this so either he ignored it or chose not to reply. Mr Howard, did you or did you not, in the segments shown on TV, interrogate, investigate and inspect on your "beat" along Walking Street? OK, that's a loaded question -- of course you did. So how do you make your "illegal" or otherwise "outside of the rules" behavior jibe with the stated rules? The fact is, you can't. All you can do is confess your sins and put the best spin on it you can so the jury of pubic opinion will not abhor you for too long.

[britmaveric]

^Looks as if the application you posted was for Bangkok, not Pattaya! (not applicable)

Edited September 28, 2009 by britmaveric

[R123]

Mark Wolfe:

From the online application form for the Thai Royal Tourist Police: ( application online)

4. Volunteers understand that being a volunteer is to assist the work of a police officer and not act on behalf of a police officer

5. Volunteers should not be involved in activities such as arrests, interrogations, investigations or inspections

I'd like one of the Pattaya volunteers to look at numbers 4 and 5 above and reconcile their activities with them. It would be hard to say that each location has its own rules when the central application so clearly states what is acceptable.

I'm sorry, did no one read this?

Mr. Howard posted after this so either he ignored it or chose not to reply. Mr Howard, did you or did you not, in the segments shown on TV, interrogate, investigate and inspect on your "beat" along Walking Street? OK, that's a loaded question -- of course you did. So how do you make your "illegal" or otherwise "outside of the rules" behavior jibe with the stated rules? The fact is, you can't. All you can do is confess your sins and put the best spin on it you can so the jury of pubic opinion will not abhor you for too long.

Well done Mark, keep up the good work.

You have shown the world that HM and his cohorts are behaving outside of their authority and the evidence is for all to see esp. in the TV series.

The sooner a stop is put to the wrongful activities of these men in black then the better it will be.

[Zodiac]

Mark Wolfe:

From the online application form for the Thai Royal Tourist Police: ( application online)

4. Volunteers understand that being a volunteer is to assist the work of a police officer and not act on behalf of a police officer

5. Volunteers should not be involved in activities such as arrests, interrogations, investigations or inspections

I'd like one of the Pattaya volunteers to look at numbers 4 and 5 above and reconcile their activities with them. It would be hard to say that each location has its own rules when the central application so clearly states what is acceptable.

I'm sorry, did no one read this?

Mr. Howard posted after this so either he ignored it or chose not to reply. Mr Howard, did you or did you not, in the segments shown on TV, interrogate, investigate and inspect on your "beat" along Walking Street? OK, that's a loaded question -- of course you did. So how do you make your "illegal" or otherwise "outside of the rules" behavior jibe with the stated rules? The fact is, you can't. All you can do is confess your sins and put the best spin on it you can so the jury of pubic opinion will not abhor you for too long.

Well done Mark, keep up the good work.

You have shown the world that HM and his cohorts are behaving outside of their authority and the evidence is for all to see esp. in the TV series.

The sooner a stop is put to the wrongful activities of these men in black then the better it will be.

-hear, hear, I second this.....a formal complaint should be lodged with the Thai authorities about the mis-use of powers by these people.

[britmaveric]

^Actually each jurisdiction has their own guidelines. So I'd say he has not actually proven anything, but confused the situation more.

At the end of the day as shown in the videos, Howard and his crew are doing a great job!!!

[hm1973]

And u are confident they are alone? (remember you are only seeing what the cam lets you see) From what I have seen the norm is always a Thai Tourist Police is present.

I'd wager that the handcuffs are more for show and never been used. If you notice for the most part everyone cooperates and no handcuffs are necessary.

How about it HM, ever used the cuffs?

I've used them many times (in accordance with our regulations pertaining to their use of course).

[britmaveric]

Cheers HM and thank you for answering the question.

[chuckwo]

And u are confident they are alone? (remember you are only seeing what the cam lets you see) From what I have seen the norm is always a Thai Tourist Police is present.

I'd wager that the handcuffs are more for show and never been used. If you notice for the most part everyone cooperates and no handcuffs are necessary.

How about it HM, ever used the cuffs?

I've used them many times (in accordance with our regulations pertaining to their use of course).

which probably means cuffing fellow uniformed TPV's to the bed posts.

[hm1973]

Cheers HM and thank you for answering the question.

Thanks to you britmaveric for speaking out on my behalf.

I am selective in what I answer here for a number of reasons:

1. I am a busy guy and work a lot, therefore I can't get too involved in debates on this or any other forum.

2. There are lots of so-called experts here who seem to know more than I do about what I do, so even if I did post THE TRUTH, you probably wouldn't believe me, so whats the point!!!

3. There are lots of threads running on lots of boards and I try to participate in as many as I can.

4. I have a life outside of cyberspace.

Enjoy the show and remember "DO NOT RESIST!!!"

Edited September 28, 2009 by hm1973

[Mossfinn]

Well done Mark, keep up the good work.

You have shown the world that HM and his cohorts are behaving outside of their authority and the evidence is for all to see esp. in the TV series.

The sooner a stop is put to the wrongful activities of these men in black then the better it will be.

Wrongful activities, according to whom?

Have The RTP asked for their assistance?

Surely if the TVP are acting 'ultra vires', and it was a concern of the RTP, they surely would put a stop to it, however if they are not putting a stop to the activities, surely they are in tacit agreement.

So by the very customs, norms, usual practices of the people that actually carry out the every day policing of the neighbourhood, it is OK.

I am not saying I agree with the activities or even the Nelsons Eye character of the local law enforcement, it is just the way it is and maybe, just maybe, they might help you one day.

Because when you look at it, are they doing you any harm, but maybe just maybe, they should change the colour of the 'uniform', beach shorts and singlet will do nicely, me thinks.

[britmaveric]

^Singha Vest with flip flops?

Edited September 28, 2009 by britmaveric

[taffylee]

So are this TPV lot who co-operated with the producers of this programme gonna be held accountable for the damage they have helped cause Pattaya and Thailand's image?

There's no good saying it promotes Thailand as I have already received a few emails from friends/family back home who now tell me that "I'm an idiot for living here", So even in my small network of friends/family there's now a few people I know that will never consider Thailand as a holiday destination.

These TPV guys ego's have gone too far this time and now it has caused even further damage to an already battered Tourism trade.

We are only half way through the series, I hope eventually the Thai Authorities will take the proper action and abolish this shambles, no other country in the world is daft enough to allow aliens to run around with 'delusions of grandeur' and 'imagined' authority, so why should Thailand?

I agree there is a role that such volunteers can play but it should be done in the style of the Phuket volunteers who don't seem to dress like Nazi Storm troopers and parade themselves in the public eye, with that "look at me" attitude.

I wonder how many of them would be left if they removed the van from Walking street and only worked out of the police station where very few people actually saw them, very few I think!

There's 30'000+ Bar girls in Pattaya who have better linguistic skills than these volunteers, and could act as better translaters... "Driver Tee Ni??" :-) what use would he be in a real situation!

Edited September 28, 2009 by taffylee

[britmaveric]

^The Thai Royal Police agreed to this, and many govt officials. So at the end of the day this is their own fault. Actually the show makes Thailand look good apart from the jetski incident - only negativity present is those tourists who misbehave and deserve what they get.

Edited September 28, 2009 by britmaveric

[KhunAussie52]

if anyone wants to know how to use handcuffs........talk to my TG........

[cdnvic]

One potentially libellous post deleted. Allegations of misconduct without evidence.

[lordsux]

Enjoy the show and remember "DO NOT RESIST!!!"

<deleted> is all this 'DO NOT RESIST!!!' crap? It's a bit like a famous quote that I'm sure you have all heard 'I'LL BE BACK!!!' have posters of Arnie on your bedroom wall maybe?

[jpolten]

Just watched Ep 4,nothing exciting!

Remember seeing a Doc about the manchester bloke before,he got 99 years,one year for ever pill he had but luckily got reduced to 26.

Think the Thai cop did a great job with the deaf people when HM's DO NOT RESIST fell on deaf ears

[jpolten]

Right on, write on about whatever you feel best.

??

[gpdjohn]

I did like the part where the intoxicated van key stealer was "cuffed" on the back of the neck by Mr. Miller after the keys were found to be in one of his shoes...and then the blind sided cheap shot by the Thai ( I assume he's a for the lack of a better word, police officer) to the guys face after he was in the van...

Where I worked as a cop, this would sure get ya into some legal trouble really quick, especially since the suspect posed no threat and was not acting violently.

[phuketrex]

Episode 4>>>

[jpolten]

HM1973

Just noticed at the end of part 4 there was no "next time on Big trouble in tourist thailand" preview!!

Has the show been pulled??

Anything happening next week or is that a rap for the show??

[JetsetBkk]

Enjoy the show and remember "DO NOT RESIST!!!"

<deleted> is all this 'DO NOT RESIST!!!' crap? It's a bit like a famous quote that I'm sure you have all heard 'I'LL BE BACK!!!' have posters of Arnie on your bedroom wall maybe?

Have you never seen "Cops" on TV? "Stop resisting!" is an oft used phrase while the cops are trying to handcuff a belligerent perp.

Of course, it's often used as an excuse for a bit of "rough handling" <cough> if the perp had previously given the cops a bad time.

Not that HM would do that, of course.

[Yoshitaka]

If Thailand is smart, she should stop this program at all cost.

Put the producer in jail.

Block youtube again like what they have done in the past.

Any one found distributing the clips in email, CD should also be fine or go to jail.

Better do it sooner than later.

[lordsux]

Obviously the volunteers must say something to try and calm down the interrogated, but running around on a public forum using this quote can only have a detrimental effect on the image of the police volunteers in Pattaya. Even if it is meant as a humorous catch phrase.

The main complaint about the volunteers seems to stem from the uniforms they wear. How hard would it be, and how long would it take to change the uniform as to give a more approachable image?

I feel that volunteers do a good job and can imagine that they have assisted many tourists in need, they just need better screening of the applicants and to tone down the para-military look.

[lordsux]

If Thailand is smart, she should stop this program at all cost.

Put the producer in jail.

Block youtube again like what they have done in the past.

Any one found distributing the clips in email, CD should also be fine or go to jail.

Better do it sooner than later.

This has got to be the most ridiculous post I have ever read on TV...well done!

[changnaam]

If Thailand is smart, she should stop this program at all cost.

Put the producer in jail.

Block youtube again like what they have done in the past.

Any one found distributing the clips in email, CD should also be fine or go to jail.

Better do it sooner than later.

This has got to be the most ridiculous post I have ever read on TV...well done!

I assume it is either a joke (nice try) or an attempt to get a rise