It is good the foreign police volunteers are there, but I think they should only assist tourists/intervene when tourists are in trouble. The iguana thing they should have left to be handled by Thai officers.

Don't know how I would react if in my country a obviously foreign police volunteer who doesn't speak my language (or only haltingly/heavily accented) would stop me for say riding a bicycle in a street where this isn't allowed.

"I think they should only assist tourists/intervene when tourists are in trouble." - so, when a tourist is being extorted for a "scratch" on a jet-ski, for example, you thinkit should be "left to be handled by Thai officers" - well, that's not been going too well for tourism lately, has it?

The topic under discussion is Patong Tourist Police. A post attempting to divert this topic to a member's own personal agenda has been removed.

Well I carry a hockey stick. Just in case I encounter anyone carrying pepper spray or mace

Your hockey stick will not do you much good when you are rolling around on the ground in pain.

There is no way on gods green earth that the Thai Police can do a background check on an Australian citizen. Exactly the same as American authorities cant do background checks on Australian citizens. So if you declare you dont have a criminal record before applying for a USA visa or a dirty harry TVP uniform it wont make a pinch of <deleted> difference. The screening process is a joke and open to abuse

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

They may ask you to supply a certificate from the Federal Police of your home country, or, they may run a check on the applicant through INTERPOL.

However, without your fingerprints, the results of either one of these, may not be accurate.

Depending on what country you are from, you can get police clearances through your embassy. They even have livescan machines and can roll your prints.

Interpol has nothing to do with this. Interpol agents are not "police". They do not make arrests, and there is no Interpol jail where criminals are taken. They only function as an administrative liaison between the law-enforcement agencies of the member countries, providing communications and database assistance in regards to trans-national crimes and criminals.

I hear the tout was flaunting the fact that he felt un-touchable, purposefully bumping the volunteers as they passed. I'm sorry, you just don't do that.

I have met the guy holding the Iguana, Wal, a few times. He is a very reasonable guy and wouldn't have made the decision to take action lightly.

Well I carry a hockey stick. Just in case I encounter anyone carrying pepper spray or mace

Your hockey stick will not do you much good when you are rolling around on the ground in pain.

There is no way on gods green earth that the Thai Police can do a background check on an Australian citizen. Exactly the same as American authorities cant do background checks on Australian citizens. So if you declare you dont have a criminal record before applying for a USA visa or a dirty harry TVP uniform it wont make a pinch of <deleted> difference. The screening process is a joke and open to abuse

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

They may ask you to supply a certificate from the Federal Police of your home country, or, they may run a check on the applicant through INTERPOL.

However, without your fingerprints, the results of either one of these, may not be accurate.

Depending on what country you are from, you can get police clearances through your embassy. They even have livescan machines and can roll your prints.

Interpol has nothing to do with this. Interpol agents are not "police". They do not make arrests, and there is no Interpol jail where criminals are taken. They only function as an administrative liaison between the law-enforcement agencies of the member countries, providing communications and database assistance in regards to trans-national crimes and criminals.

"They only function as an administrative liaison between the law-enforcement agencies of the member countries." - that's my point, and it is a fact.

All the other things you mention in your post - I never stated.

^ you forgot the last part of the sentence..."..providing communications and database assistance in regards to trans-national crimes and criminals." i.e. they don't do background checks for volunteers working abroad. I know you didn't say the rest. I was just stating a general but very common misconception about Interpol, which I think is relevant based on your comment.

Saw a tout yesterday with a loris, mid afternoon.