Has Violent Crime Been On The Sharp Increase In Thailand?

[wintermute]

Unfortunately, I found myself watching snippets of of the Thai news the other day and they were showing various criminal "incidents" over the past month. They showed at least a dozen crimes caught on camera. The nature and behavior of the criminals seems rather brazen lately and more pervasive than in recent years.

In one scene two guys robbing a gold shop actually shot the owner after she grabbed the perp's leg. In another two men on a motorcycle ripped what appeared to be a notebook computer from a rather pretty looking high school girl. She was being dragged on the ground as they yanked it away from here and she went running after them while they sped off. In both cases a remarkable amount of physical violence was used. There were many others too but these were the ones they caught on security cam.

I've been in Thailand awhile but this is the first time i've seen so many over the top violent incidents in such a short amount of time. Is it due to the post-flood conditions?

[longstebe]

I've just seen that. If you watch the news day in day out I think you'll find it pretty common.

[giddyup]

I can't believe how many people are killed just over petty disputes, ie looking the "wrong way" at someone. It seems that Thai "face" is out of control. Not to mention the amount of murders for piddly amounts. They had a Thai serial killer on the news recently that had poisoned about 6 people just so he could steal and then sell their car. He did everyone a favour and hung himself in his cell.

[wana]

I can't believe how many people are killed just over petty disputes, ie looking the "wrong way" at someone. It seems that Thai "face" is out of control. Not to mention the amount of murders for piddly amounts. They had a Thai serial killer on the news recently that had poisoned about 6 people just so he could steal and then sell their car. He did everyone a favour and hung himself in his cell.

or one of them victims families decided he should be "hung" in his cell and called in a favour .........

[mauGR1]

From my point of view, crime is increasing everywhere, not only in Thailand.

Although the flood may have left thousands jobless, that is not significant in the big picture.

I blame the rise of criminality on the lost of social values, including religion, which in most cases has been replaced by nothing except greed for power and money.

Internet, mobiles and technology in general is not helping too, as it creates isolation and selfishness.

[chrisinth]

As more and more CCTV systems are setup, we will see this as an increase in criminal acts, as the evidence is more and more visual. I have no doubt that crime is on the increase but as mauGR1 pointed out, this is happening everywhere.

Is it more dangerous in Thailand than before? That to me is what we should be asking.

[robblok]

From my point of view, crime is increasing everywhere, not only in Thailand.

Although the flood may have left thousands jobless, that is not significant in the big picture.

I blame the rise of criminality on the lost of social values, including religion, which in most cases has been replaced by nothing except greed for power and money.

Internet, mobiles and technology in general is not helping too, as it creates isolation and selfishness.

I have to disagree here, it sounds like an old mans rant. Blaming progress for higher crime rates. And religion.. the world would be better of without it glad to get rid of it. Unless people would really uphold the teachings of religion and that never happens.

More crime, maybe but the reasons could also be more people and people living closer together. I have no idea how internet, would lead to more crime.. unless you count computer crime but not the violent crimes we are talking about. I think the people committing those crimes are not people with the latest iPhone and mobile internet. Id say they are usually poor people who want to get rich fast.

Everyone wants to get rich but many can't there is a big difference between the have's and have nots. You see this a lot more in Thailand and other developing countries then in Western countries where its not so obvious. Here money is valued maybe even more then in the west it gives status. That is the reason not internet and religion.

[DP25]

There has been a huge increase in CCTV presence in Thailand so a lot more crimes are going to be caught on film.

Crime as a whole has been decreasing over time. 10 years ago there were over 5,000 murders per year in Thailand. Last year it was down to 3,307. Year before that it was 3,658. Robbery numbers have similarly decreased over the past 10 years.

You can download police statistics, but they are all in Thai so you may need to use a dictionary or google to translate them

http://statistic.pol....th/dn_main.htm

There may be some small increase due to the flood in certain areas, but a lot of it is just because of increased tv and internet coverage and increased numbers of CCTV and cell phone cameras to catch crimes on film.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

It would be impossible to say for sure as statistics here can't be trusted, even less so than back home.

However it's probably safe to assume things have been getting worse, but perhaps not as suddenly or sharply as you perceive.

My recommendation for sanity - don't watch local news, in fact don't watch broadcast TV at all, I honestly think it makes people stupid. Get your news filtered by what's actually important to you in writing so you can process it more objectively.

[robblok]

There has been a huge increase in CCTV presence in Thailand so a lot more crimes are going to be caught on film.

Crime as a whole has been decreasing over time. 10 years ago there were over 5,000 murders per year in Thailand. Last year it was down to 3,307. Year before that it was 3,658. Robbery numbers have similarly decreased over the past 10 years.

You can download police statistics, but they are all in Thai so you will need to use a dictionary or google to translate them.

http://statistic.pol....th/dn_main.htm

There may be some small increase due to the flood in certain areas, but a lot of it is just because of increased tv and internet coverage and increased numbers of CCTV and cell phone cameras to catch crimes on film.

While i applaud this if something is not reported it does not count. The police want statistics to go down. I am not saying its not true, i just take those things as fact.

In The Netherlands crime was going down but some investigators showed that many crimes are just not being reported anymore by the police they just don't write them down tell the victims there is no case or no chance. If it can happen there i think it can happen here too.

[wintermute]

There has been a huge increase in CCTV presence in Thailand so a lot more crimes are going to be caught on film.

Crime as a whole has been decreasing over time. 10 years ago there were over 5,000 murders per year in Thailand. Last year it was down to 3,307. Year before that it was 3,658. Robbery numbers have similarly decreased over the past 10 years.

You can download police statistics, but they are all in Thai so you may need to use a dictionary or google to translate them

http://statistic.pol....th/dn_main.htm

There may be some small increase due to the flood in certain areas, but a lot of it is just because of increased tv and internet coverage and increased numbers of CCTV and cell phone cameras to catch crimes on film.

This is about as reliable as government economic data coming out of Zimbabwe.

[mauGR1]

From my point of view, crime is increasing everywhere, not only in Thailand.

Although the flood may have left thousands jobless, that is not significant in the big picture.

I blame the rise of criminality on the lost of social values, including religion, which in most cases has been replaced by nothing except greed for power and money.

Internet, mobiles and technology in general is not helping too, as it creates isolation and selfishness.

I have to disagree here, it sounds like an old mans rant. Blaming progress for higher crime rates. And religion.. the world would be better of without it glad to get rid of it. Unless people would really uphold the teachings of religion and that never happens.

More crime, maybe but the reasons could also be more people and people living closer together. I have no idea how internet, would lead to more crime.. unless you count computer crime but not the violent crimes we are talking about. I think the people committing those crimes are not people with the latest iPhone and mobile internet. Id say they are usually poor people who want to get rich fast.

Everyone wants to get rich but many can't there is a big difference between the have's and have nots. You see this a lot more in Thailand and other developing countries then in Western countries where its not so obvious. Here money is valued maybe even more then in the west it gives status. That is the reason not internet and religion.

In fact we agree more than you think..And of course the quick increase of population leads to more chaos in general.

But i would like to reiterate that IMO technology brings isolation, and that is quickly destroying the social fabric. Probably it's still too early too assess the real damage.

I am not demonizing progress, but when changes happen too fast, you have an increase in collateral damage.

[robblok]

From my point of view, crime is increasing everywhere, not only in Thailand.

Although the flood may have left thousands jobless, that is not significant in the big picture.

I blame the rise of criminality on the lost of social values, including religion, which in most cases has been replaced by nothing except greed for power and money.

Internet, mobiles and technology in general is not helping too, as it creates isolation and selfishness.

I have to disagree here, it sounds like an old mans rant. Blaming progress for higher crime rates. And religion.. the world would be better of without it glad to get rid of it. Unless people would really uphold the teachings of religion and that never happens.

More crime, maybe but the reasons could also be more people and people living closer together. I have no idea how internet, would lead to more crime.. unless you count computer crime but not the violent crimes we are talking about. I think the people committing those crimes are not people with the latest iPhone and mobile internet. Id say they are usually poor people who want to get rich fast.

Everyone wants to get rich but many can't there is a big difference between the have's and have nots. You see this a lot more in Thailand and other developing countries then in Western countries where its not so obvious. Here money is valued maybe even more then in the west it gives status. That is the reason not internet and religion.

In fact we agree more than you think..And of course the quick increase of population leads to more chaos in general.

But i would like to reiterate that IMO technology brings isolation, and that is quickly destroying the social fabric. Probably it's still too early too assess the real damage.

I am not demonizing progress, but when changes happen too fast, you have an increase in collateral damage.

I don't really agree.. i would never been in the contact i have been with my parents the way i have now. It is easier to keep in contact with old friends. Its not any different for Thais. Can you give me examples how it breaks down the social fabrics ?

[mauGR1]

From my point of view, crime is increasing everywhere, not only in Thailand.

Although the flood may have left thousands jobless, that is not significant in the big picture.

I blame the rise of criminality on the lost of social values, including religion, which in most cases has been replaced by nothing except greed for power and money.

Internet, mobiles and technology in general is not helping too, as it creates isolation and selfishness.

I have to disagree here, it sounds like an old mans rant. Blaming progress for higher crime rates. And religion.. the world would be better of without it glad to get rid of it. Unless people would really uphold the teachings of religion and that never happens.

More crime, maybe but the reasons could also be more people and people living closer together. I have no idea how internet, would lead to more crime.. unless you count computer crime but not the violent crimes we are talking about. I think the people committing those crimes are not people with the latest iPhone and mobile internet. Id say they are usually poor people who want to get rich fast.

Everyone wants to get rich but many can't there is a big difference between the have's and have nots. You see this a lot more in Thailand and other developing countries then in Western countries where its not so obvious. Here money is valued maybe even more then in the west it gives status. That is the reason not internet and religion.

In fact we agree more than you think..And of course the quick increase of population leads to more chaos in general.

But i would like to reiterate that IMO technology brings isolation, and that is quickly destroying the social fabric. Probably it's still too early too assess the real damage.

I am not demonizing progress, but when changes happen too fast, you have an increase in collateral damage.

I don't really agree.. i would never been in the contact i have been with my parents the way i have now. It is easier to keep in contact with old friends. Its not any different for Thais. Can you give me examples how it breaks down the social fabrics ?

Well, in this very same moment i am sitting on the computer instead of chatting with my neighbour..Maybe she wanted to tell me about that suspicious stranger hanging around in the neighbourhood last night...Or point to that misplaced tile on my roof..Who knows..

For sure it seems more interesting to surf internet at the moment, but, some you gain, and some you lose.

[DP25]

There has been a huge increase in CCTV presence in Thailand so a lot more crimes are going to be caught on film.

Crime as a whole has been decreasing over time. 10 years ago there were over 5,000 murders per year in Thailand. Last year it was down to 3,307. Year before that it was 3,658. Robbery numbers have similarly decreased over the past 10 years.

You can download police statistics, but they are all in Thai so you may need to use a dictionary or google to translate them

http://statistic.pol....th/dn_main.htm

There may be some small increase due to the flood in certain areas, but a lot of it is just because of increased tv and internet coverage and increased numbers of CCTV and cell phone cameras to catch crimes on film.

This is about as reliable as government economic data coming out of Zimbabwe.

Of course, because you don't like what they say and they contradict your premade opinions. So you think that 10 years ago they were reporting accurate numbers, but now have decided to make them up? Why do some crimes decrease over the past 10 years and others remain the same, or even increase? Rape is up 5% from the stats from 10 years ago. And if you look at each individual year, sometimes it is higher or lower than the year before, even though the trend is to decrease for murder and robbery. Go look a the stats if you're able to, they are extremely detailed, broken down by crime, by month, by area, and by crimes reported and arrests made for the past 15 years.

The stats are reasonably accurate, you just don't like them because they don't conform to your prejudices. Nightly TV news and internet stories are not a reliable measure of crime, because the ability to report on crime has increased dramatically in Thailand. Now there are CCTV cameras everywhere, everyone has a camera phone, everyone is on the internet talking about a crime if it happens to them. In the past most crimes were not publicized, now it is easy to put everything on the news.

It makes sense that crime would be decreasing in Thailand. Things are improving dramatically despite the problems. People as a whole are much better off than they were 10 or 15 years ago. I also find Bangkok far safer than most big cities back home, so my personal anecdotal evidence confirms with the statistics. I wouldn't walk around alone at 3am in many big US cities, in Bangkok I don't even think twice about it.

[robblok]

I have to disagree here, it sounds like an old mans rant. Blaming progress for higher crime rates. And religion.. the world would be better of without it glad to get rid of it. Unless people would really uphold the teachings of religion and that never happens.

More crime, maybe but the reasons could also be more people and people living closer together. I have no idea how internet, would lead to more crime.. unless you count computer crime but not the violent crimes we are talking about. I think the people committing those crimes are not people with the latest iPhone and mobile internet. Id say they are usually poor people who want to get rich fast.

Everyone wants to get rich but many can't there is a big difference between the have's and have nots. You see this a lot more in Thailand and other developing countries then in Western countries where its not so obvious. Here money is valued maybe even more then in the west it gives status. That is the reason not internet and religion.

In fact we agree more than you think..And of course the quick increase of population leads to more chaos in general.

But i would like to reiterate that IMO technology brings isolation, and that is quickly destroying the social fabric. Probably it's still too early too assess the real damage.

I am not demonizing progress, but when changes happen too fast, you have an increase in collateral damage.

I don't really agree.. i would never been in the contact i have been with my parents the way i have now. It is easier to keep in contact with old friends. Its not any different for Thais. Can you give me examples how it breaks down the social fabrics ?

Well, in this very same moment i am sitting on the computer instead of chatting with my neighbour..Maybe she wanted to tell me about that suspicious stranger hanging around in the neighbourhood last night...Or point to that misplaced tile on my roof..Who knows..

For sure it seems more interesting to surf internet at the moment, but, some you gain, and some you lose.

Yes and if there was no tv nobody would see what others have and people would have all the time in the world to look for strangers that do bad things. If there was no religion people would not go to the temple but could look for crime. If people did not work they could look for crime. Ect ect.

What i mean to say is that you can say this for everything that consumes time.

[MikeOxtinks]

I can't believe how many people are killed just over petty disputes, ie looking the "wrong way" at someone. It seems that Thai "face" is out of control. Not to mention the amount of murders for piddly amounts. They had a Thai serial killer on the news recently that had poisoned about 6 people just so he could steal and then sell their car. He did everyone a favour and hung himself in his cell.

Is it any wonder that they behave like they do? No education, pent up frustration having to spend your life kow towing and not being able to speak your mind in case you lose a bit of "face" Bottling all of this rubbish up for years then suddenely - the straw that breaks the camles back and BOOM they go off like a firecracker. Never taught responsibility, never taught that actions have consequenses, never a thought for anyone excepth themselves, always having to SMILE and bow to authority.....I am surprised there isn't more problems here.

[FarangTalk]

One of the major contributors to the massive increase in violent crime within Thailand is the use of methamphetamines.

As long as Thailand remains the World's major hub for their distribution and the countries surrounding Thailand remain major producers, violent crime will continue to rise.

[elwood]

I can't believe how many people are killed just over petty disputes, ie looking the "wrong way" at someone. It seems that Thai "face" is out of control. Not to mention the amount of murders for piddly amounts. They had a Thai serial killer on the news recently that had poisoned about 6 people just so he could steal and then sell their car. He did everyone a favour and hung himself in his cell.

Is it any wonder that they behave like they do? No education, pent up frustration having to spend your life kow towing and not being able to speak your mind in case you lose a bit of "face" Bottling all of this rubbish up for years then suddenely - the straw that breaks the camles back and BOOM they go off like a firecracker. Never taught responsibility, never taught that actions have consequenses, never a thought for anyone excepth themselves, always having to SMILE and bow to authority.....I am surprised there isn't more problems here.

OK, so according to you it's poor education, pent up frustration etc, that causes crime here; seeing as western countries are better educated what is the reason for the mindless violence that takes place in these countries?

Or are you going to tell us that Thailand is the world's most violent place?

[Soutpeel]

There has been a huge increase in CCTV presence in Thailand so a lot more crimes are going to be caught on film.

Crime as a whole has been decreasing over time. 10 years ago there were over 5,000 murders per year in Thailand. Last year it was down to 3,307. Year before that it was 3,658. Robbery numbers have similarly decreased over the past 10 years.

You can download police statistics, but they are all in Thai so you may need to use a dictionary or google to translate them

http://statistic.pol....th/dn_main.htm

There may be some small increase due to the flood in certain areas, but a lot of it is just because of increased tv and internet coverage and increased numbers of CCTV and cell phone cameras to catch crimes on film.

This is about as reliable as government economic data coming out of Zimbabwe.

Or Tourism statistics from TAT

[GuestHouse]

Unfortunately, I found myself watching snippets of of the Thai news the other day and they were showing various criminal "incidents" over the past month. They showed at least a dozen crimes caught on camera. The nature and behavior of the criminals seems rather brazen lately and more pervasive than in recent years.

The OP has turned on the Thai news and discovered the truth that Thais know, and which many expats are either unaware of or deny.

Now he thinks Violence in Thailand has increased.

It has not, he's just become aware of the truth of the matter.

[Ulysses G.]

There has been a huge increase in CCTV presence in Thailand so a lot more crimes are going to be caught on film.

Crime as a whole has been decreasing over time. 10 years ago there were over 5,000 murders per year in Thailand. Last year it was down to 3,307. Year before that it was 3,658. Robbery numbers have similarly decreased over the past 10 years.

There was plenty of violent crime here 20 years ago, but no CCTV or Internet to make it seem so prevalent.

[GuestHouse]

I once had a conversation with a foreigner at a party in a moo baarn I was staying at.

He'd lived there for a couple of years, loved it and was telling me how there was no crime in the area and how crime rates in general where so much lower than back in the old country.

He was incredulous when I asked him about the gang rape of a school girl that had happened a week earlier less than 150 meters from his front door.

Ignorance is bliss, if the OP had not switched on the Thai TV News he would still be living in blissful ignorance.

[NanLaew]

1980: Aussie mate was shot point blank in the head so they could steal his rental motorcycle.

1985: Ex- wife (RIP) threw a meat cleaver at me as I was going upstairs (she was upstairs).

1990: Spent a night in jail after being jumped in a bar by a Thai ratpack.

1995: Living in US and had house burgled (twice) and car broken into (twice) and truck wrecked by DUI wetback.

2000: Living in Brazil and was 'rolled' just off the Copacabana.

2005: Sister-in-law had serious injuries when her gold necklace was snatched while riding motorcycle in heavy traffic.

2010: Neighbour came out of her shower to be confronted by housebreaker with a machete.

Same old... same old.

[robblok]

I once had a conversation with a foreigner at a party in a moo baarn I was staying at.

He'd lived there for a couple of years, loved it and was telling me how there was no crime in the area and how crime rates in general where so much lower than back in the old country.

He was incredulous when I asked him about the gang rape of a school girl that had happened a week earlier less than 150 meters from his front door.

Ignorance is bliss, if the OP had not switched on the Thai TV News he would still be living in blissful ignorance.

I can agree that reading all the news and such can make you paranoid. I felt safe in my home country and i feel safe here. I think there is crime everywhere and it can happen to anyone if they have bad luck. There are ways to reduce your risks of course.

Not flaunting your money around, not walking in certain area's in the dead of night, staying sober when going out(alone), going out in groups (then you can get drunk). Having your house secured more then your neighbor and visible hard to get into. But in the end its also about luck.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Just avoid the local news, particularly TV. Out of 70+ million people there will always be horrific stories, the purpose of news isn't to objectively inform you but to sell advertising. Why tune into that rubbish and get such a slanted negative view of the world.

In this case "ignorance" is more accurate, if bad news doesn't touch your life it's much better not to be aware of it, if we were "accurately" informed of every disaster befalling every human on earth we'd all commit suicide.

Put your head into a positive frame of mind and your reality will be (not just "seem") much better.

Shoot your television.