Who Watches The Thai Police?

[chainarong]

The one's i know and the one's I have met all seem pretty ok, the last one at a road block, slinging sh!!t about AU losing to Germany in that girls game soccer, till he was told aussie rules mate, AFL mate, but U hear and read so much that you are left wondering if they all could be infected with that corruptusrlabribeus syndrome.

[elkangorito]

^ Are you ok?

[IvanDobsky]

But then, look at Italy's Berluscony and it's Governments.... Greece, Party-Donations in Germany.. rotten people are everywhere, not only in Thailand guy's - get real!

It's a question of ethics and character, not of one certain nation or it's nationals...no corruption in the US, in China, in the UK?

true that corruption is everywhere but that doesn't make it ok

The UK has a lot to learn from Thailand : try paying tea money there and see how far you get. If you are a policeman, you don't even need to pay for your promotion...imagine that!

[Ricardo]

This is a job for Elvis Costello. He'd better bring the Attractions because its going to be a doozy of a job.

Was that their song "Watching the Defectives" ?

[ozzieovaseas]

A friend of mine in Australia recently told me about how she got fined AU$110 for arriving 5 minutes late on a 30 minute parking meter. It was raining heavily so she had been waiting for it to ease in a nearby shop .

The p!#$% was still processing the ticket when she arrived on the scene (him with umbrella in hand) and was using a handheld device but said "sorry, cant reverse the process once its started"

If she were unemployed and doing it tough, this (3000baht) would probably be half her weekly living allowance/payment....but yeh...stiff KEE is the response from the Australian police and same same from government...bugger all chance to get a waiver even if you are starving...very compassionate country eh?

I surmise if there were no corruption in Thailand, police were sqeaky clean, no tea moneys, AND as a result you expats had to pay baht 2000 for a helmet infringement, imagine the ensuing uproar..this site would have to be closed down from all the traffic

Edited July 17, 2010 by ozzieovaseas

[rkidlad]

I think most Thai police are a bunch of hairy ball bags.

[IvanDobsky]

A friend of mine in Australia recently told me about how she got fined AU$110 for arriving 5 minutes late on a 30 minute parking meter.

If she were unemployed and doing it tough, this (3000baht) would probably be half her weekly living allowance/payment....

I surmise if there were no corruption in Thailand, police were sqeaky clean, no tea moneys, AND as a result you expats had to pay baht 2000 for a helmet infringement, imagine the ensuing uproar..this site would have to be closed down from all the traffic

Can you hear that..? It's the sound of the world's smallest violin.

I think if your friend were unemployed, she'd be catching the bus. Maybe she'd have an umbrella too.

Charge people 2000baht for not wearing a helmet, sounds good to me.

[TheSource]

New Chief, Old Chief it will not change anything.

If Thailand really wants to change it police force. perhaps starting from scratch is the only way to go.

Establish proper police academy

Pay very decent wages

Select candidates based on their ability not who they know.

But i am just dreaming, as this will never happened and if it does, i am afraid it might create the biggest "unofficial" mafia in the world-most of not all ex police

Well maybe you dont have to start from scratch. I guess we could apply the "Broken window Theory". I forgot where i read it but some guy put a car in the middle of a urban town in America and it was untouched for weeks. Then he broke one window and a few days later the car was destroyed and turned over. If we could fix the small illicit activities maybe that would hinder the bigger activities...just my small contribution. But how??? Gives me a headache.

[theoldgit]

Well for a start the government of the day needs to have a will to start to drag the police force out of the mire they stuck in.

[animatic]

Well for a start the government of the day needs to have a will to start to drag the police force out of the mire they stuck in.

AND OF COURSE

not be blown up by a car bomb for their efforts...

[overhaul38]

It would be unfair to hold police, which are at the end of the day human beings, to a rigid and idealized code of ethics.

Huh? They supposedly enforce the law. Why is it "unfair" to expect them to follow it?

I judge the police on the fact that I can walk the streets in Bangkok and nobody bothers me,I don't count the foreigners,I take care of them myself.I don't pay high taxes like in Western countries,but I hear people complain about tea money.How do you pay tea money ,I would like to contribute. I think they do a fantastic job,are you aware that a red light ticket in LA costs $460.00 dollars,then your insurance uses it as an excuse to raise your rates for three years.I have never been stopped while driving in Thailand,it could be your driving.I like the Thai system!!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I fail to see how the price of a red light ticket in LA has to do with the subject. The Thai system is to have B200 attached to your drivers license.

The worst kept secret in the world is how corrupt the Thai police force is. Like a waiter in a restaurant they are underpaid with the understanding that they will supplement their income with on-the-spot fines, shared with their superiors, of course.

[overhaul38]

A friend of mine in Australia recently told me about how she got fined AU$110 for arriving 5 minutes late on a 30 minute parking meter. It was raining heavily so she had been waiting for it to ease in a nearby shop .

The p!#$% was still processing the ticket when she arrived on the scene (him with umbrella in hand) and was using a handheld device but said "sorry, cant reverse the process once its started"

If she were unemployed and doing it tough, this (3000baht) would probably be half her weekly living allowance/payment....but yeh...stiff KEE is the response from the Australian police and same same from government...bugger all chance to get a waiver even if you are starving...very compassionate country eh?

I surmise if there were no corruption in Thailand, police were sqeaky clean, no tea moneys, AND as a result you expats had to pay baht 2000 for a helmet infringement, imagine the ensuing uproar..this site would have to be closed down from all the traffic

I think most people would have no objections if EVERYONE had to pay B2000 for a helmet infringement.

I would expect very little uproar when the laws are applied fairly to everyone regardless of their language, skin color or passport.

[overhaul38]

A friend of mine in Australia recently told me about how she got fined AU$110 for arriving 5 minutes late on a 30 minute parking meter. It was raining heavily so she had been waiting for it to ease in a nearby shop .

The p!#$% was still processing the ticket when she arrived on the scene (him with umbrella in hand) and was using a handheld device but said "sorry, cant reverse the process once its started"

If she were unemployed and doing it tough, this (3000baht) would probably be half her weekly living allowance/payment....but yeh...stiff KEE is the response from the Australian police and same same from government...bugger all chance to get a waiver even if you are starving...very compassionate country eh?

I surmise if there were no corruption in Thailand, police were sqeaky clean, no tea moneys, AND as a result you expats had to pay baht 2000 for a helmet infringement, imagine the ensuing uproar..this site would have to be closed down from all the traffic

I have serious doubts that a parking ticket is AU$110 in Australia. I suspect a wee bit of hyperbole and that AU$11 is more likely.

[surangw]

watched by those higher up that control them ( control, not hold them to any standards)

[kuffki]

A friend of mine in Australia recently told me about how she got fined AU$110 for arriving 5 minutes late on a 30 minute parking meter. It was raining heavily so she had been waiting for it to ease in a nearby shop .

The p!#$% was still processing the ticket when she arrived on the scene (him with umbrella in hand) and was using a handheld device but said "sorry, cant reverse the process once its started"

If she were unemployed and doing it tough, this (3000baht) would probably be half her weekly living allowance/payment....but yeh...stiff KEE is the response from the Australian police and same same from government...bugger all chance to get a waiver even if you are starving...very compassionate country eh?

I surmise if there were no corruption in Thailand, police were sqeaky clean, no tea moneys, AND as a result you expats had to pay baht 2000 for a helmet infringement, imagine the ensuing uproar..this site would have to be closed down from all the traffic

I have serious doubts that a parking ticket is AU$110 in Australia. I suspect a wee bit of hyperbole and that AU$11 is more likely.

Actually the lowest parking ticket in Australia was $68 and this was 7 years ago. I will not be surprised if its gone up to $110

Stoping in BNo stopping sign use to be $110

[geriatrickid]

Reading the back and forth and the reference to Australia, I recall a recent parking infraction in Melbourne that resulted in the attached letter of protest. (BTW the fine was $58.) It begs the question, what do you think the local Thai reaction to such a letter of protest would be? Would it work in Thailand?

In this case, Melbourne's parking barons dismissed the ticket.

[harrry]

A friend of mine in Australia recently told me about how she got fined AU$110 for arriving 5 minutes late on a 30 minute parking meter. It was raining heavily so she had been waiting for it to ease in a nearby shop .

The p!#$% was still processing the ticket when she arrived on the scene (him with umbrella in hand) and was using a handheld device but said "sorry, cant reverse the process once its started"

If she were unemployed and doing it tough, this (3000baht) would probably be half her weekly living allowance/payment....but yeh...stiff KEE is the response from the Australian police and same same from government...bugger all chance to get a waiver even if you are starving...very compassionate country eh?

I surmise if there were no corruption in Thailand, police were sqeaky clean, no tea moneys, AND as a result you expats had to pay baht 2000 for a helmet infringement, imagine the ensuing uproar..this site would have to be closed down from all the traffic

I have serious doubts that a parking ticket is AU$110 in Australia. I suspect a wee bit of hyperbole and that AU$11 is more likely.

Parking fines across the metropolitan area vary by up to $460 depending on which local government area motorists are caught park illegally.

A survey of 20 metropolitan councils has found that parking illegally in an ACROD zone - usually deemed the most serious offence - in the Shire of Peppermint Grove and City of Armadale would attract a maximum fine of $40.

But the same offence in parts of the Town of Cottesloe will cost up to $500, while in the cities of Perth, Fremantle, Bayswater and Joondalup the fine is $120.

Motorists caught stopping in a "no stopping" zone would be stung with a fine of $65 in the City of Rockingham, $80 in the cities of Stirling and Ned- lands, $120 in the Town of Victoria Park and $200 in Cottesloe.

Failing to display a parking ticket attracts a fine of between $30 in Fremantle and $100 in Cottesloe. Parking fines are lowest in Peppermint Grove and the cities of Armadale, Belmont and Fremantle with a $30 minimum.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/7146174/big-parking-fines-gap-in-metro-area/

[endlessimage]

A friend of mine in Australia recently told me about how she got fined AU$110 for arriving 5 minutes late on a 30 minute parking meter. It was raining heavily so she had been waiting for it to ease in a nearby shop .

The p!#$% was still processing the ticket when she arrived on the scene (him with umbrella in hand) and was using a handheld device but said "sorry, cant reverse the process once its started"

If she were unemployed and doing it tough, this (3000baht) would probably be half her weekly living allowance/payment....but yeh...stiff KEE is the response from the Australian police and same same from government...bugger all chance to get a waiver even if you are starving...very compassionate country eh?

I surmise if there were no corruption in Thailand, police were sqeaky clean, no tea moneys, AND as a result you expats had to pay baht 2000 for a helmet infringement, imagine the ensuing uproar..this site would have to be closed down from all the traffic

I have serious doubts that a parking ticket is AU$110 in Australia. I suspect a wee bit of hyperbole and that AU$11 is more likely.

$11? What planet are you on? Last one I got (in Queensland) for overstaying a meter was $130.

A collegue of mine being a smart ass found out the hard way that: If it's not payed on time there was a $30 late fee. If then not paid you go to court and fined plus court costs. If you don't pay the fine the State Penalty Enforcement Service (SPERS) cancel your drivers licence and your car registration, have a warrant issued for your arrest and then attempt to seize money from your bank account or assets that you possess via the State Sheriffs Office. Meanwhile all the attempts they make to pay that original fine are also charged to you. it ended up costing him just over $4000 in fines and fees and a 2 year suspended drivers licence (it had already been cancelled so he could not reapply for 2 years). And just to make sure that he payed the $4000+ they garnished his wages via his employer.

Back top the OP, the only time I was pulled over here (I was breaking the law) the officer would not accept cash from me but insisted on a ticket and he was doing the same with the Thais he pulled over too. Pain in the ass having to go to the police station the next day to pay the fine 300 baht fine and pick up your licence.

[sukhumvitlegend]

It's been the same for decades. I expect it to remain the same for decades.

[Bagwan]

There will always be bent cops, but when the whole national force is bent,

it totally defeats the purpose of having them...

and undermines any efforts to create a better society.

The UK police force were set up by John Peel (hence original slang name 'the peelers) initially to protect the rich from the poor.

Why were the Thai police force set up, and by whom?

The Metropolitan Police Force was set up by Sir Robert Peel, then Home Secretary, in 1829 and was based at Scotland Yard. Such officers, unpopular at the time, were known as 'Bobbies' or, particularly in Ireland, 'Peelers'.  In 1838 the Marine Police and the Bow Street Runners were incorporated into the MP. In 1857 all UK cities were mandated by law to set up their own police forces. Peel was known as the Father of Modern Policing. Prior to this insurance companes had employed guards for the property of their clients and they also organised their own fire brigades. If yoyu were not insured then it was a case of Burn Baby, Burn, which it often did anyway.

The London public hated the Peelers. Many were poor quality - drunks and bullies. Of the first 2,800 new policemen, only 600 kept their jobs. The first policeman, given the number 1, was sacked after only FOUR HOURS! (He was legless - shades of Dudley Moore's one legged Tarzan hopeful). Eventually however the impact upon crime, particularly organised crime, led to an acceptance, if not approval, of the Bobbies.

I had always assumed that Rama V had ordained a National Police Force but, if  Wikipedia can be believed, it was formed in 1933 presumably as a result of the Peoples Revolution. It was certainly the sort of thing that Phibun would support - and seek to control.

[Mhayden]

overhaul38 - I'm currently living in Melbourne, but have also lived in Sydney & Perth - Regardless of which state you're living in Australia, the parking fine amount would at least be $100. I can't stand the prices the govt charges for driving fines & infringements. Give me Thailand any day!!

[chainarong]

^ Are you ok?

Yeah, it only hurts when I move.