Police station chiefs in Phuket must speak English

[Thaivisa News]

Phuket:- Police station chiefs in Phuket and other tourist-destination provinces must be able to communicate in English, Deputy Police Commissioner General Pol Gen Wut Liptapanlop said Tuesday.

He said the English language skill of police officers in tourist-destination provinces will be counted as their performance indicator for their promotion.

Wut said the English skill of the station chiefs and other officers are needed to ensure that police would better protect foreign tourists, especially now that Thailand is joining the ASEAN Economic Community by the end of this year.

The deputy national police chief was speaking to reporters in Phuket when he visited the province to observer the Phuket police’s preparations for the AEC integration.

Wut said Thai police have to step up efforts to crack down on foreign criminals in line with the Royal Thai Police’s agreement with the ASEAN-Pol. The crackdowns will focus on human and drug traffickings and money laundering, he added.

Wut said he has instructed the Phuket Police head office to set up a police ASEAN center to compile all information about tourism from other agencies concerned. The center must be modeled after the ASEAN center of the Royal Thai Police, he said.

The information must include the tourist-guide firms, accommodations of foreign tourists and businesses of foreigners in the province.

He said Phuket police were also instructed to take good care of foreign tourists as well as handling issues of beggars, homeless people and illegal immigrants.

Wut said the top ten foreign tourists who visited Phuket were Chinese, Malaysians, Indians, Japanese, Russians, South Koreans, Britons, Vietnamese people and Australians.

[kartman]

So Police Station Chiefs will be falang volunteers?

[Thunder26]

Wake up call just now? It should have been for a long time now!

Edited March 3, 2015 by Thunder26

[konying]

Considering the number of tourists, which is almost 50% of population in thailand, not only police but majority government and service employees in tourist locations should speak good English

[kaiyaibob]

I am shocked...who had the foresight to even consider this was important???? promote that man / woman :-)

[colinneil]

Police chiefs to speak English !!! Is that a joke?

I know a senior police man, who can speak good English when he wants, when he has a problem involving a farang

MAI KO JAI !!

[Lupatria]

If I were an illegal working or overstaying English teacher on Phuket, I would be very scared now. They would probably keep me in a cell until the chief passed his English exam. According to the speed of learning here this could come close to life in prison.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Lupatria

[razer]

So Police Station Chiefs will be falang volunteers?

Naaaah ... The police can use this translation software .....

[steelepulse]

>>He said the English language skill of police officers in tourist-destination provinces will be counted as their performance indicator for their promotion.

Well that and a thick envelope for these highly desirable positions.

[BigBadGeordie]

Just out of interest did he make this statement in Thai or English?

If it were English, then, nothing will change, as non of the audience would have a clue what he was talking about or what to do.

However giving further thought on the matter, the same holds true if he was speaking in Thai also.

[wabothai]

Finally some wise words.

Who will check his English/American?

[maidee]

how is thailand an internation destination with some serious crimes against them almost on a daily basis ?

so who is going to teach them? or they will magically all sudden speak understandable english ?

[AZBill]

It's always best to job a tourist in a language they can understand.

[BigBadGeordie]

It's always best to job a tourist in a language they can understand.

Try again, this time, in English.

[retell]

Great now better make that nationwide , tourist tend to go out from tourists Hotspots also they can be found everywhere , and expats live here everywhere also!