Chiang Mai's Farang Cops

[baht&sold]

source: The Nation Sunday Mar 05/06- courtesy of Chiang Mai CityLife

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Chiang Mai's Farang Cops

The possibilities of the latest initiative by the Royal Thai Police going wrong are endless.

Virtually untrained foreigners – in uniform complete with baton and handcuffs – out on the streets with all the appearance of authority, but in possession of none, conjures up all sorts of nasty scenarios.

There are 60 tourist police in Chiang Mai, only two of whom are officers. The department is under-budgeted and the majority of the policemen don’t even speak English. In September it was decided that resident foreigners would be recruited to assist the tourist police on a voluntary basis.

The Tourist Police Foreign Volunteer programme now has more than 40 members from 20 countries, including Japan, Britain, Uruguay, the United States, South Korea and Canada.

Many are missionaries, others retirees, some professionals such as doctors, photographers and writers, with a sprinkling of business owners and entrepreneurs in the ranks. Each has his or her (there are three women) own reason for joining. While most claim altruism, it’s hard to believe that some don’t spend a few hours at home in front of the mirror practising their salute and fast draw. I would.

Candidates must attend a one-day course on basic scenarios, problems and guidelines. The Immigration Department checks for valid work and residency permits and criminal records. Then it’s a couple of field trips to the local tourist sites, a visit to the uniform shop, Bt3,000 for the full kit-and-caboodle and Bob’s your policeman.

“These volunteers are not here to fight crime,” says Pol Lt Col Nattawut Chotikanjanawat, inspector of the Chiang Mai Tourist Police. “They are here to serve as an intermediary between tourists and the Thai culture and police. They translate between various languages and Thai, they teach our tourist police to speak English, they tell tourists where to find certain things, or what to do under various situations.

“We stress the importance of calling for backup and of never getting involved in a dangerous situation, and they always patrol in pairs.”

Each volunteer can choose to work as a translator, teacher, sit behind the police desk and offer advice or pound the streets. Some volunteers work one to two hours per week, others spend days in uniform. It’s a very informal arrangement.

“I simply love helping people,” says Marilyn Khopang, a US citizen raised in Burma and working for a Presbyterian church in Chiang Mai since 1974.

“It gives me and my husband joy to meet people and be able to offer them help and advice,” she tells me in fluent Thai.

“I think every country in the world should have this service,” says her colleague in blue, Steve Kramer, a photographer.

“When foreigners come to a country that’s very different from their own and experience a stressful situation, that stress can be exacerbated to the point that they can’t deal logically with a problem. We help provide a buffer zone to reduce their stress. I think we’re providing an important service which genuinely benefits Chiang Mai’s tourism.

“Some people may want to join this programme under a misguided notion of getting to play Batman and Robin, but the reality is not so glamorous. When we walk down Ratchadamnoen Road during the Sunday Walking Street, we spend most of our time answering such mundane questions as ‘where is the bathroom’ or ‘where can I exchange my currency’.”

There are moments requiring more than a passing grade in French and the knowledge of where the Tha Pae Gate latrines are located.

On one of his morning rounds, Kramer came across two Swiss girls – scraped and bruised from a snatch-and-grab – crying in their guesthouse.

They’d lost their passports and credit cards and feared that they wouldn’t make the next full-moon party. Kramer acted as facilitator with the police, taking the girls to report the crime, then called the Swiss embassy in Bangkok to request a special pickup of the passports on a Saturday so the girls could get to Koh Pang-ngan by Tuesday.

Joel Khopang, Marilyn’s husband, was in the station one day when a 23-year-old Briton came in to report a lost camera. He signed the report regardless of being warned numerous times that it was illegal to file a false report. Going on instinct, Joel and some tourist police went to the man’s hotel room, only to find the said camera tucked away in the cupboard. The judge handed the lying Brit a 30-day sentence.

“Many visitors from Japan and Korea don’t speak Thai or English,” says Noritoshi Urano of Chiang Mai’s Japanese-language Vieng magazine. “To be able to ask for help from a native speaker is a very valuable thing.

“There are 2,500 registered Japanese residents and more than 100,000 Japanese visitors to Chiang Mai every year. That is a lot of people who could get into trouble without being able to communicate. There are two Japanese volunteers now but we need many more. We also need Korean volunteers.”

While in places like Pattaya and Phuket, where there are foreign gangs and criminals and the tourist police are active in solving crimes, in gentle Chiang Mai their role tends to be more akin to public relations.

But expat residents of a few months offering untrained advice to tourists? Criminals and undesirables dressed in uniform offering children lollipops and a hand to find lost parents? Farang with bravado stepping into the middle of a knife fight? Men in uniform getting a few special perks?

These are all very real possibilities, of which the tourist police and volunteers are not unaware.

“Because we have to go out in pairs at all times, accompanied by a tourist police officer, I think that we have minimised the potential for problems,” Kramer says.

Things can go wrong, but it’s a risk the volunteers know and have agreed to take. Maybe the project is simply more police propaganda, soon to be dropped like so many others. Perhaps the screening and training processes are still flawed and numerous mistakes will be made over the coming months or years.

But most residents agree that the programme should be given a chance. There may be no structure, but their sincerity is worn on their sleeve – along with their names, volunteer badge and national flag.

The scheme has raised interest in Pattaya, Phuket and other tourist destinations.

Our local boys and girls in blue are being closely watched, and if the programme becomes successful it will not only be a feather in the caps of the Royal Thai Police and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, but something to help numerous tourists each year return home with a smile.

The Chiang Mai Tourist Police are looking for a further 60 volunteers. The only requirements are that applicants have a work permit or residency status and no criminal record. Call 1155 or (053) 278 559 for more information.

Lt Col Nattawut has also asked for donations of bicycles for the men and women in blue.

Pim Kemasingki

Citylife

Chiang Mai

[Rinrada]

I for one recon its a GOOD idea.... Chiang Mai leading the way...(co jai Pattis got some but not exactly the same)

[zzap]

“These volunteers are not here to fight crime,” says Pol Lt Col Nattawut Chotikanjanawat, inspector of the Chiang Mai Tourist Police. “They are here to serve as an intermediary between tourists and the Thai culture and police. They translate between various languages and Thai, they teach our tourist police to speak English, they tell tourists where to find certain things, or what to do under various situations.

So what are handcuffs and baton for?

[sierra01]

“These volunteers are not here to fight crime,” says Pol Lt Col Nattawut Chotikanjanawat, inspector of the Chiang Mai Tourist Police. “They are here to serve as an intermediary between tourists and the Thai culture and police. They translate between various languages and Thai, they teach our tourist police to speak English, they tell tourists where to find certain things, or what to do under various situations.

So what are handcuffs and baton for?

My thoughts too. It's a good idea that maybe needs a bit of fine tuning and a more defined job description.

If you have a problem it's really good to be able to talk to someone that can liaise with the TP and avoid mistakes and misunderstandings.

[lamphun]

“These volunteers are not here to fight crime,” says Pol Lt Col Nattawut Chotikanjanawat, inspector of the Chiang Mai Tourist Police. “They are here to serve as an intermediary between tourists and the Thai culture and police. They translate between various languages and Thai, they teach our tourist police to speak English, they tell tourists where to find certain things, or what to do under various situations.

So what are handcuffs and baton for?

My thoughts too. It's a good idea that maybe needs a bit of fine tuning and a more defined job description.

If you have a problem it's really good to be able to talk to someone that can liaise with the TP and avoid mistakes and misunderstandings.

What happened to the Farang police liaison person supposedly appointed personally by Thaksin ?

[Ajarn]

Maybe with a couple of farangs hanging off each deputy, there might be less of a chance of their scamming money off of folks

[Maejo Man]

What happened to the Farang police liaison person supposedly appointed personally by Thaksin ?

Never heard of that appointment. Any links or references, as I can't find any mention of it on the forum. Thanks..MM

[sierra01]

What happened to the Farang police liaison person supposedly appointed personally by Thaksin ?

Never heard of that appointment. Any links or references, as I can't find any mention of it on the forum. Thanks..MM

Probably couldn't get a work permit

[Heng]

I think they had a similar system in the Krakow ghetto.

[Wallalai]

On one of his morning rounds, Kramer came across two Swiss girls – scraped and bruised from a snatch-and-grab – crying in their guesthouse.

They’d lost their passports and credit cards and feared that they wouldn’t make the next full-moon party. Kramer acted as facilitator with the police, taking the girls to report the crime, then called the Swiss embassy in Bangkok to request a special pickup of the passports on a Saturday so the girls could get to Koh Pang-ngan by Tuesday.

What a marvellous mission they accomplish to allow those two innocent girls tojoin such a great cultural event as the 'Full moon dirty".

I wouldn't join such a crap: http://www.pbase.com/kananga/full_moon_party

[sleepyjohn]

So what are handcuffs and baton for?

It just wouldn't be sexual without them.

Bangkok Post:

Chiangmai Police Force today released photos of the new standard issue handcuffs for the New Onward Christian Soldiers Police volunteers.

By the way I noticed there were Christians working in immigration a couple of years ago. I think that's a bleeding liberty. Apart from the Christian infiltration, which seems to pervade the whole of Chiangmai, I think the helpers are a good idea, although yes I too have visions of:

and a few weeks later:

Edited March 6, 2006 by sleepyjohn

[sleepyjohn]

Bangkok Post also just released a press release of one of the volunteers in plainclothes showing off the new baton:

[Ajarn]

From CityLife letters..

Dear Editor,

As a Tourist Police volunteer l was somewhat disappointed with the article in the latest edition of the magazine titled ‘Farangs in Blue' as this may have given tourists who read the article the wrong impression of what our duties are and why we are doing it. Well let me assure the readers that there are no perks or other benefits available to us as we all still have to go through all the same immigration procedures as any visitor to Thailand .

We Tourist Police volunteers are not law enforcers but are here to support the Tourist Police and to help promote Chiang Mai and indeed Thailand as a safe place for tourists to visit. Most of the volunteers are married to Thais and have been staying in Chiang Mai for a long time and we give up the spare time we have to promote tourism and to give back something to the community in which we live. Indeed the Tourist Police are under-funded which is why we have to buy our own uniforms. We do not carry guns, batons or handcuffs as we have no powers to arrest or detain any offender and we have no wish to do so as we will leave that up to the appropriate police departments. I read in a recent article in the Bangkok Post that there are only 1,000 Tourist Police officers in Thailand because of the lack of funding. Pol. Lt. Col. Nattawut Chotikanjanawat must be congratulated in setting the volunteer scheme up in Chiang Mai as this initiative is now being followed up in other tourist resorts in Thailand . We volunteers enjoy what we are doing, meeting people and giving them help and guidance should they need it.

John Powell

Ed Please reread the article. In the first paragraph I wrote, “Virtually untrained foreigners, in uniform (complete with baton and handcuffs) out on the streets with all the appearance of authority, but in possession of none.” [Pol. Lt. Col. Nattawut told us that these items were permissible, and I certainly did not mention anyone carrying a gun].

In the article your duties are clearly stated and your screening process of background immigration check and one day's training carefully explained. The lack of funding is mentioned as is the lack of any enforcement authority by any volunteer. I stand by all facts divulged while maintaining my opinion on the programme, which, if you will note, was cautionarily supportive. Hope that clarifies things.

[sleepyjohn]

Make sure you are polite to the "farang cops"...this Japanese tourist didn't say please

[Puwa]

It may seem silly or even insulting to residents like us, but I can see how it makes a difference to visitors--and that's who this program seems to be designed for.

Someone shows up for a holiday, doesn't speak the language, doesn't know his way around, really has no clue about how things work and don't work here, and runs into trouble-- a stolen wallet, a lost bag, a traffic mishap on a rented bike, a scam. These things happen every day, right?

If I were in that person's shoes, I wouldn't mind having a native English speaker around to help. This seems like a sincere effort to provide better service and improve the quality of life in a modest way for some people. What's the point of condemning the service before it even gets going?

Let it turn out to be a total farce, and then thrash it to death based on reality.

[sleepyjohn]

Let it turn out to be a total farce, and then thrash it to death based on reality.

Don't get me wrong. The more I think about this idea the more I like it. I'm simply not happy with Christians worming their way into our community here on levels like this. They already seem to control half the schooling, and you know what that means.

So I like it, and in a spirit of reconciliation can I suggest a little advertising.

Could anyone clever with digital design adapt this poster:

Does Judge Farang sound good?

Edited March 8, 2006 by sleepyjohn

[chanchao]

Judge Jehova?

[chuchok]

These guys should have their head shaved .

They then should get a logo

"Don't <deleted> with the Baldies"

[chanchao]

They're mostly bald anyway arent they?

I think a proper fitness level & general physique is important when doing police-related work; they should have just given all the Hash House Harrier lads badges.

[Maejo Man]

I think a proper fitness level & general physique is important when doing police-related work.

I agree 100% Chanchao, I've seen far too many "fatties" literally waddling around. It's a new scheme, and has a high "visibility" profile, and, in my opinion, should portray resonably smart looking volunteers that actually fit their uniform, rather than bulging out of it.

[chuchok]

I think a proper fitness level & general physique is important when doing police-related work.

I agree 100% Chanchao, I've seen far too many "fatties" literally waddling around. It's a new scheme, and has a high "visibility" profile, and, in my opinion, should portray resonably smart looking volunteers that actually fit their uniform, rather than bulging out of it.

Are they recruiting for a model agency?

[Ulysses G.]

They're mostly bald anyway arent they?

I think a proper fitness level & general physique is important when doing police-related work; they should have just given all the Hash House Harrier lads badges.

They would be walking around in a drunken stupor molesting young ladies of all races and nationalities!

[chanchao]

> They would be walking around in a drunken stupor molesting

> young ladies of all races and nationalities!

Well, that's what they're already doing anyway. Recruting them would just add tourist-police duties to their job description.

[Thaising]

Does the farang volunteer deserved such bashing. Please be kind on your word, at least they are there to served the people.

[polecat]

What kind of person would want to join up with a voluntary police force? Surely only attention seeking busybodies. As if it isn't bad enough having corrupt, petulant Thai police hanging around drinking whisky at street stalls with guns hanging off their belts, we've now got self-righteous ######ing farang getting involved. Sod 'em, I say. Thailand with farang cops? Jesus this place has gone to the dogs!

[Ulysses G.]

What kind of person would want to join up with a voluntary police force? Surely only attention seeking busybodies. As if it isn't bad enough having corrupt, petulant Thai police hanging around drinking whisky at street stalls with guns hanging off their belts, we've now got self-righteous ######ing farang getting involved. Sod 'em, I say. Thailand with farang cops? Jesus this place has gone to the dogs!

This is exactly what I thought until I found out that one of my favorite MODERATORS was one of the volunteers. Now I prefer to think of them as Chiang Mai's best and brightest!

[Puwa]

Indulge me for a moment and consider this quotation...

I'm simply not happy with Christians worming their way into our community here on levels like this. They already seem to control half the schooling, and you know what that means.

...if it were slightly revised by making a single key substitution:

I'm simply not happy with farang worming their way into our community here on levels like this. They already seem to control half the schooling, and you know what that means.

How would we feel if this message appeared on a Chiang Mai forum with mainly Thai members? Pretty creepy, huh?

A little tolerance goes a long way.

(By the way, I'm not a missionary, not a Christian, and not particularly interested in opening up a huge debate on missionaries in Thailand--there was a vibrant exchange not long ago about missionaries working with hilltribes. I wouldn't worry too much about proselytization in the lowlands, though. It's hard for Christian missionaries to gain a toehold in a Theravada Buddhist society, except among the most dispossessed.)

[...Ken]

It's hard for Christian missionaries to gain a toehold in a Theravada Buddhist society, except among the most dispossessed.)

Some years ago I had to stay in Wieng Heng (west of Chieng Dao) and asked a missionary there "how's business?". He replied that it wan't too good with the Buddhists but they did very well with the Animists because ,with their belief structure, it was simply a lateral transfer of similar concepts.

This fellow had married into the Morse family of Chiengmai....a unique family to be sure !

...Ken

[sleepyjohn]

I had a Thai girlfriend who went to church every week. They weren't too bad either, nothing too far out, although there was a bit of that strange "holding the hands out in the air".

I used to pop in there just occasionally, and was invited to a lunch one time. A gaggle of farang Christians had shown up also.

I picked one out to sit next to, sat, and kind of waited for it to happen. We made polite conversation for a few minutes, but I could sense something bursting to get out. i didn't have to wait long, and the conversation went to the lord. I bided my time patiently whilst he carried on. When he had finished he asked me about me. I am pretty disgusted by the fact that the Christians in America largely put in the government that is causing so much pain in Iraq I said, and also pretty disgusted with their support of Israel. But America doesn't really support Israel he said.

I shall state once again that I'm all in favour of the farang cops. A cop of all people must be thick skinned enough to take my legpulls. Look upon it as an exercise.

Edited March 9, 2006 by sleepyjohn

[Ulysses G.]

I am pretty disgusted by the fact that the Christians in America largely put in the government that is causing so much pain in Iraq I said, and also pretty disgusted with their support of Israel.

A lot of deluded, uninformed, knee-jerk liberals feel this way.