The Tourist Police in Hua Hin is looking for volunteers…
In my youth (The Hague) I was always told to stay away from police officers. After all, you never knew. In Thailand, this belief has been reinforced, because inspection usually resulted in a fine, donated to the 'fund for agents in financial distress'. Out of curiosity I have now made an exception for the Tourist Police in Hua Hin. This corps organized a seminar for expats.
The Royal Thai Tourist Police was set up to help foreigners. In order to do that, the agents of the corps must master the language of foreigners, while the farang in question must show some understanding of the way things are done in Thailand. That is a problem on both sides. So the Tourist Police thinks it can solve the problems with more foreign volunteers. Hence the seminar, which was sufficiently attended by about thirty foreigners, the same number of Thai visitors and about twenty troops from the Tourist Police. Numerous hotemots made an appearance, such as the mayor of Hua Hin, his deputy, members of the Lions Club and those of the Women's Club.
Was this a successful seminar? Not quite. The level was matched to that of Alzheimer's patients in an advanced state of decomposition. The main part consisted of photographing each other of officers in uniform, with or without the mayor or other dignitaries.
A lady from the court explained how it worked, with pictures of all employees in this institution. Information that was also (and in this case also in English) on the brochure provided. However, all sheets on the overhead projector remained in Thai. So yawn.
Subsequently, some officers were delighted with a written letter of thanks from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency for helping to arrest Paul Caldwell, a US white-collar criminal who lived a remarkably luxurious lifestyle in Hua Hin, in 2012. The ceremony also had to be recorded with many dozens of photos.
Before the break (and a good lunch) an Immigration inspector came to explain that every foreign visitor gets a stamp in his or her passport when entering the country and one when leaving. That was big news…
The man did not speak English and the translator struggled to translate into German and English simultaneously. Some foreigners present asked obvious questions, such as how to act if you are in hospital. This is definitely part of the ready knowledge of every foreigner visiting Thailand, but hey.
Excitement and panic arose when a Dutchman present asked whether a volunteer at the Tourist Police does not need a work permit. Formally speaking, this is indeed the case, but the organizers had not yet puzzled over this question. The story then circulated in the corridors that the Tourist Police will provide a ticket that the arrested volunteer can show.
After lunch, team building was attempted by playing some silly games. Nice for the Thai present.
The participants of the seminar are in possession of a kind of certificate and a cap with the logo of the Tourist Police. The value was immediately clear when a participant threatened to be stopped by the police at a traffic control on his way home. Cap on and drive on, turned out to be the motto. I leave the cap in the car just to be safe. And the statement too…
Same nonsense as in ChiangMai, no insurance in case of danger, pay uniform yourself, pay ID yourself, no workpermit, no back-up from the real police, oh well do your best, not me anymore, afterwards you will be made to feel like shit made street
I think this is real thai humor. we Dutch are too sober for it. keep on smiling I guess
Kind of stupid of the Royal Thai Tourist Police to have such high expectations of expats. I think they overestimate the average farang a bit. The initiative to contribute to a possible common social interest must come from the expat community itself. The conditions, motivation and expectations of the average expat and Thai are too far apart.
As long as this is not properly coordinated, the project will never succeed. In fact, it could already be concluded at an initial consultation that the project is not viable.
Anyway...the Royal Thai Tourist Police had received a grant to organize a seminar and so they did. Includes lunch and games. In the Netherlands that would be a cup of coffee and a slice of cake and the games, which we call role-playing in the Netherlands.
But it does not alter the fact that I see possibilities that a farang could make a positive contribution. But that would require some adjustment from, in the first place, the farang. 🙂
Nice positive piece Hans, but if the candidates are of the allooi, who have learned to stay away from the police, then it will not work. People who have done nothing need not fear the police. The "level was aligned with that of Alzheimer's patients in a very advanced state of decomposition".
With this cheap humor you get laughs on your hand, but you forget that you yourself were one of them.
Leave your cap and certificate in your car and be proud of it. Easy with checks.
What an unpleasant experience and negative story… typically experienced from a Western point of view, where everything has to roll like a train. Some things are just like that in Thailand. You don't talk about it either. Of course you “officially” need a work permit. But if you do volunteer work for the police, that's a different case. They make the service! Then you won't be asking such questions at all.
And what was the problem with the participant who threatened to be stopped on the way home? Did he do something wrong? What's the problem if he gets arrested? Does that have anything to do with his position? Are you then exempt from all traffic law obligations with such a cap on?
I have certainly been stopped six or seven times in the time I have lived here in Hua Hin and not because I am Farang, but because there was a normal traffic control. EVERYONE was arrested, both Thai and Farang. I had my helmet on, showed my driver's license and was kindly thanked and allowed to drive again.
I only experienced a grumpy cop once, but that was because I did something really stupid and it was really my own fault. Another time my girlfriend made a U-turn where it was not allowed and we were stopped. The one who got most excited about that was my own sweetheart and she thought the Thai police were bad. The man was just doing his job! My baby was wrong.
In the Netherlands I was once persecuted by two policemen on a motorcycle that I did not dare to drive to the right, because I thought they wanted to overtake me on the right. After driving very close behind me for a few minutes, I had to stop and was fined 180 euros for driving too long on the left. The bastards had caused this! The system in the Netherlands has a stitch loose… at least here things are much more humane.
On a wide road, without much traffic, without houses left and right, but officially within built-up areas, you were not allowed to drive faster than 50. I drove 80 and was stopped by the police, fined 250 Euros and almost had my driver's license taken away! I didn't even realize I was going so fast and it was only a stretch of maybe two kilometers!
In Germany I was chased by another motorist, chased and got stuck in such a way that I almost flew into a wall if I didn't brake hard and drove to the right, causing me to hit him. Because I did not stand by that dangerous lunatic, I was sentenced to a 2000 Euro fine and a six-month driving ban in Germany. In an attempted defense, the German judge said that such scenes did not exist in Germany and if I did not keep my mouth shut, I would receive a higher fine! My lawyer, was able to reduce the fine with 400 Euro… that was his bill afterwards. That motorist was out to kill me, but I got the fine!
And then the farangs here find it strange if they have to pay 100 baht, less than 3 Euro, for not wearing a helmet or not having a driver's license with them... RIDICULOUS! And how bad is it, because he was in danger of being arrested. Was he arrested or not? Put on your hat and drive on... then you're right? An acquaintance of mine once proudly told me that he simply drove through an inspection. This is also completely disrespectful behavior!
I also do not think that the tourist police are used to carry out traffic checks. They are to assist the Thai police to explain things to the foreigners, so that perhaps a little more understanding can be shown. Or maybe also to play as an intermediary between the police and the foreigner involved in a case. I believe not to arrest, but to assist… a small difference…