Tourist Police Volunteer

[harrry]

My personal opinion is that if the TPVs were replaced by 'Tourist Assistance' volunteers, who were not part of the Thai police organisation, and who did not carry police ID etc - then the number of foreigners offering to work as Tourist Assistance volunteers would be precisely 1 ==> myself!

I'm a cynical sort of chap and I do not believe that those who work as TPVs would be willing to do that work if the 'police' aspect were removed from their job title and job responsibilities.

In fact, I'd like to hear from those on this forum who are currently working as TPVs. Would you be willing to swap your police uniform and police ID for a Tourist Assistance Volunteer ID card, cap and polo shirt? (Sorry, no handcuffs, baton, taser or mace...)

Simon

I think the current ones may leave but there are many others who would consider being Tourist Assistance Volunteeers once they have shed the corrupt police image.

[Neeranam]

Not much chance of that happening ..........

There wouldnt be any "volunteers " if there wasnt the perks of the " job "

uniforms ,id cards ,police stickers for your car and motorbikes ,walkie talkies ,hand cuffs ,pepper spray

and an inflated sense of self importance .......

There are no perks. all the perks are self created in their own mind.

I can say i did see some Thai guys slap one of those volunteers on Walking Street a few weeks ago, the real police just stood there, watched and did absolutely nothing, despite volunteer in his 60's( mind you) kept looking over with the "puppy eyes" trying to get some reaction

The real police AND the tourist police DON'T WANT THEM

Very true.

The Thai tourist police are a joke to the real police.

I have a good friend who is a deputy commander in the Crime Suppression Division who makes jokes about the tourist police all the time. I help him with problems he has with farangs in 7 provinces he commands. The TP are way down the ladder with virtually no power. They are good for giving directions etc if they can speak English. nOfficers are sent down to the TP if they do something wrong.

I also know the local tourist police who told me that they don't want farang volunteers but have been ordered to have some. It is a loss of face for them to ask for help from farang and let's face it most of the ones who apply are lacking in many areas.

[klubex99]

park a vehicle on my land and see what happens to it ,some idiot parked in front of our delivery entrance before and we just broke his window ,took the hand brake off and pushed it down the street

"real " police came down to see what the problem was ,manager told them in thai and they told the offender he should leave before things get worse

what ever gives you the right to use someone elses property as a free car park ?

Actually, you sound just as bad if not worse than the very people you have a problem with. You seem to be complaining about attitude problems because someone has a uniform and it goes to his head in such a way that he thinks he is something special and has the power to mess around in his own personal bubble of authority. Then here you go proudly stating how you chain up people's motorcycles and extort money from them, and smash their car windows because they parked in front of your delivery access. You think you have the authority to commit criminal damage to someone's property just because you happen to own a hotel?

I think it is you that has the supremacy problem mate. If you did that to my car, I would have personally had your kneecaps smashed. One day this power-drunkenness of yours will get you into BIG trouble and you may just be crying out for the TVP to help you out.

Actually, I don't even believe you, I certainly don't believe that the police would have come down on your side in the window breaking incident. Or was that another example of police inefficiency that you happened to gain from on that occasion. Sorry, I think it's pure BS. Criminal damage is illegal even if it is on your property.

Edited July 20, 2013 by klubex99

[CharlesHH]

WARNING........ to my surprise Thai Tourist police refused to come to my call for help because I was not in Bangkok city limits but about 5 miles north.

I had men trying to break down my condo door and were very threatening, broke my 'security' outer door and tried to bust up my wood door. During this shouting attack, I telephoned Thai Tourist Police 4 digit number and a nice English speaking officer answered quickly and I said I am an American in........ and if the men get through my door, they are going to kill me. The officer said that I would receive no help from Tourist Police due to my being outside Bangkok, even a few km. He repeated over my urgent pleas for me to dial 191 and refused to help me in any other way.

191 rang until phone turned it off four times. I was scared, voice shaking.

DO NOT DEPEND ON THAI TOURIST POLICE IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE THEIR JURISDICTIONS and good luck discovering their jurisdictions.

DO NOT DEPEND ON ANYONE ANSWERING 191.

True story. Wife and two strong family men saved me but took an hour to get there.

[monkeycountry]

I think they are hilarious! Always give me a good laugh when on walking street.

They should dress them in yellow T-shirts with smiley face badges saying "Can I help you" but instead someone thought it would be a good idea to dress them up like Nazi Storm-troopers!

Still they do nobody any harm (well except for the one convicted and banged up for selling heroin, the one pepper-spraying lady-boys on beach road and the nutter that made his own police car driving round pattaya at 100 MPH)

Except of course those of them who are in on various scams. Problem is because they are called "tourist police" the tourists actually trust them.

Example. Jetski guy wants 100k fir damage. Tourist police guy tells the tourists he has "negotiated" it down to 70k and that they are really lucky they get away with that as they were just about to be beaten, arrested or whatever. Tourists thank the volunteer guy and pay, and a little later the tourist police guy gets his share.

Had it been an ordinary policeman the tourists would be more suspicious and on guard, but they don't expect other foreigners to be scamming them too.

[monkeycountry]

Some people just want a uniform no matter what. They are too old for the army. They did not pass the real police psyche test, and apparently the local shopping mall already had enough security guards, so they become tourist police volunteers!

[monkeycountry]

,speeding through red lights with a police badge on their vehicle , and shouting at other tourists like they have some authority over everyone is a system all gone wrong...........

When you reported the guy with a tourist police badge on his car abusing his position, what happened? Oh, you didn't? Why not?

Perhaps it was it just a police badge like every second Furtuner, Beemer and Merc in Thailand has? Because those aren't TPV's.

I once witnessed a car with "tourist police assistant" written across the back in big letters que jump and slowly run a dozen red lights the length of Chao Fa East. It really bothered me. I wanted to take the drivers picture but the entire car was blacked out, even the front. I noted the plate number and sent an email to the Tourist Police. Probably did nothing but I felt better about it. If you see something like that and don't do anything about it then you are complicit in it, and really shouldn't be coming on here to moan about it. If only I had a camera that did video, I would have recorded it and posted it.

ever hear of pissing in the wind ?

NomadJoe

Please show me the law that says a spectator witnessing a crime and does nothing is complicit.

[anthobkk]

D you think some volunteer tourist police will comment on this post ?

[wow64]

I have read a few comments about people being a tourist police volunteer and some not very nice.They are called wannabees etc,I would like to know why?

Where i live there is no tourist police but i really see no problem with some westerners helping out the Thai police and helping the tourists at the same time.

Went to phuket/patong about a month ago. Tourist police doing their walkwith thai police across the road a farang very tall was giving a thai girl a beat down. She ran down to the beach with him in chasing. They didnt bother to go investigate..Must have been outside of their area.

Sent from my c64

[simon43]

D you think some volunteer tourist police will comment on this post ?

If you mean this thread in general, then they already have....

If you are referring to a specific post in this thread, which post #?

Simon

Edited June 7, 2014 by simon43

[krisb]

Theres some funny shit in this golden oldie thread.

[krisb]

WARNING........ to my surprise Thai Tourist police refused to come to my call for help because I was not in Bangkok city limits but about 5 miles north.

I had men trying to break down my condo door and were very threatening, broke my 'security' outer door and tried to bust up my wood door. During this shouting attack, I telephoned Thai Tourist Police 4 digit number and a nice English speaking officer answered quickly and I said I am an American in........ and if the men get through my door, they are going to kill me. The officer said that I would receive no help from Tourist Police due to my being outside Bangkok, even a few km. He repeated over my urgent pleas for me to dial 191 and refused to help me in any other way.

191 rang until phone turned it off four times. I was scared, voice shaking.

DO NOT DEPEND ON THAI TOURIST POLICE IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE THEIR JURISDICTIONS and good luck discovering their jurisdictions.

DO NOT DEPEND ON ANYONE ANSWERING 191.

True story. Wife and two strong family men saved me but took an hour to get there.

Bloody hell, least your ok!

[JetsetBkk]

Bloody hell, least your ok!

What about his "ok"? Or did you mean "wok".

Did he hit them with a wok?

I'm confused.

[marko kok prong]

Recently watched a show brit's in bangkok,they were all tossers,but the worst was the tourist police guy,in Pattaya,"speaks fluent thai 'they said my arse,he had the basic "bai laeow"," mai dee",but that was about it ,then they had a shot of him on Pattaya beach,off duty,dressed in shirt,trousers,socks and shoes,i thought ,jeez,his feet must stink,pounding the beat all night,busting flower sellers,then kitted out like this by day,what a joke and embarassement.

Edited June 7, 2014 by marko kok prong

[Neeranam]

As far as I know, the tourist police have no police power. The volunteers obviously have even less which would be negative!

[Neeranam]

http://eng.pattayatouristpolice.com/html/os_eng.htm

[Thanet]

I think the basic concept is a good one, but for some reason its attracts some real nut cases, and the blackshirts and jack boots dont help either

The ones that pretend to be customers and help bust Go-Go bars really bug me.

Turning your own kind in to foreign authorities is a weird mentality. A bit like that of the Jüdische Ghetto-Polizei in WWII Poland, I guess.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Thanet

[Trembly]

I know that my post maybe some what offensive, but there is one encounter with some Pattaya Tourist Police Volonteers that keeps spinning though my mind:

On day I was at the Jomtien Station (halfway up the hill) in order to prepare a report for Banglamung Police.

At the station were some PTPV's present and there was one guy: short, blond hair, hazel blue eyes, pale skin, tall and dressed up in a dark blue uniform with a military outlook...........really, the guy gave me the creeps and the total concept, guy + attire, placed me in a bad war movie and only the Kiss-trademarks on his shoulders were missing.

You mean something a bit like this American policeman?

Don't tell me . . . you think the German air force should also stop calling themselves the Luftwaffe.

[krisb]

Bloody hell, least your ok![/quote

What about his "ok"? Or did you mean "wok".

Did he hit them with a wok?

I'm confused.

Huh?

What part of ok dont you get?

Edited June 7, 2014 by krisb