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A New Group of Tourist Police in Pattaya?


sharecropper

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I saw these two foreigners in uniforms stopping Thais and foreigners alike near Tukcom on Friday.

I have never seen foreigners in these uniforms before. Any idea what this category is and what they do? It was hard to tell them apart from the (one) real Thai policeman with them.

Thanks.

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There was a disturbing Paramilitary feel to them I thought. I've never seen foreigners dressed up like this before.

I overheard one talking in English and was sure he was a Russian-speaker by his accent.

I only saw the one in your photo, and I was sure he was speaking English with a German accent. Perhaps I was wrong.

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I have always dreamed bout being a policeman, but I got over it at the age of 8.

Others never do.

Sit at the tourist police desks on soi 9 and walking street as it appears you don't know what they do.

They give directions, help settle some common disputes (ie: bills in bars), and most are long term expats who have an idea how things work. If you can't speak Thai (or even if you do), if given a choice between dealing with a Thai copper or the tourist police officer, I know who I would prefer.

All to say, people get wound up about them but I see the relief on people's faces when they're in distress and there's a foreigner there to help them.

The guys in the pics are NOT tourist police, no need for the standard defense, that's the whole point of the OP asking who they are and what they do .

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There was a disturbing Paramilitary feel to them I thought. I've never seen foreigners dressed up like this before.

I overheard one talking in English and was sure he was a Russian-speaker by his accent.

I only saw the one in your photo, and I was sure he was speaking English with a German accent. Perhaps I was wrong.

Tropo, photos 1 and 2 were of one guy on the Tukcom side. Photo 3 is the guy on the other side of the road (or he was when I took that). It was him that I overheard talking.

Still no idea what these guys are doing dressed up like paramilitaries. Russian Special Forces doing traffic stops? - On second thoughts, it can't be them; they're all in the Ukraine...

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My understanding is that there are a very few foreigners now recruited into the very separate Traffic Police division and I am certain the OP has run into one of them. No other police volunteer group wears a uniform like the Thai police themselves.

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Retire to a tropical paradise ,lots of ladies ,lots of free time because you do not need to work ------------and become a policeman ,takes all sorts ,biggrin.png

Good bragging rights back at home too, being a Pattaya policeman. That would look great on any resume.

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So how is it with the actual juridical situation with this foreign police volunteers..... Can they fine you for traffic and other violations ??

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

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As far as I know there are two ways farangs are connected with the police here: as tourist police volunteers and as regular police assistants. Different uniforms and different functions. The ones in the photo above seem to be the second sort.

Personally I stay well away from both types, in the same way as I avoid vermin and syphilis.

It's not always that easy. They flag you down for licence checks at check points, which can make staying away from both types a bit tricky.

They do have a few favourite locations though. Beach Road outside the police station and 2nd Road just south of Central. In the late afternoon early evening the police station is full of inconvenienced foreigners paying for transgressions.

Tukcom area should be avoided on market days - Tuesdays and Fridays.

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So how is it with the actual juridical situation with this foreign police volunteers..... Can they fine you for traffic and other violations ??

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

They probably can. Why not? I'd say the police department have the power to deputize anyone they want to. They have the guns, they can do pretty much anything they like.

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I'm pretty sure they are affiliated with the Highway Police. I saw no guns.

I don't think so. The ones we saw at Tukcom are working with the traffic police from Soi 9 cop station.

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I'm pretty sure they are affiliated with the Highway Police. I saw no guns.

I don't think so. The ones we saw at Tukcom are working with the traffic police from Soi 9 cop station.

Their helmets are nearly identical to traffic police except the red/white on top are reversed possibly to distinguish them as volunteers. Also the insignia on the sleeve of the circle with line through it also closely matches traffic police.

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