What can the Tourist Police do for us in Thailand?
Tourist Police (Nieuwland Photography / Shutterstock.com)
When I went to Thailand for the first time more than 40 years ago, I was advised to contact the Tourist Police in case of problems. Fortunately, I have never had to use that, but following Gringo's recent story about police corruption, I wondered whether that advice is still valuable?
Because what are the functions of the Tourist Police? The following function is striking: “If necessary, help tourists cooperate with other police departments.” And of course there are even more functions (not an exhaustive list):
- Increase the confidence of tourists in their safety. As well as the safety of their property.
- Assist tourists.
- Eliminate fraud, protecting the interests of tourists.
- To contribute to the improvement of the country's tourist image.
The Tourist Police must therefore, if necessary, help you in your contact with the regular police. And they must also protect the interests of tourists (farangs in general?).
Back to Gringo. He was driving under the influence but the blood alcohol limit was minimal. Moreover, there was no accident and this was the first time it happened. What could have happened if Gringo had not wanted to pay the requested 20.000 baht (later reduced to 19.000 baht)? According to Gringo, he was in danger of being taken to the police station in handcuffs. Disproportionate of course, especially since it concerned an elderly person (Gringo, I hope you won't blame me). With the Tourist Police present, I don't think this would ever have happened. Gringo would then have spent at least a night in jail (again according to Gringo). That also seems unlikely to me if the Tourist Police had been there. It seems more logical to me that the commander on duty issues the fine (probably the minimum fine of 5.000 baht mentioned by Chris) or that Gringo was told that he would have to appear the next day (leaving behind his driver's license, for example). In my opinion, there would have been no corruption. And Gringo could have potentially saved himself 14.000 baht with one phone call.
My question is: "Are there people who were helped in such a way by the Tourist Police in their contacts with the regular police or other cases such as extortion or absurd asking prices for services provided, etc.?" Please no biased responses along the lines of saying that the Thais will never attack each other. Undoubtedly this will sometimes play a role (I also know examples of this in the Netherlands) but that will not be true in general.
NB By Tourist Police I do not mean the volunteers that you seem to have in Pattaya, among other places, but the officers who are permanently employed and who are only included in the force after a strict selection. Their motto is: “Your first friend”.
For completeness, the telephone number of the Tourist Police: 1155.
If you have been driving drunk and appear in court for the first time and of course have not had an accident, the fine is usually 1 Baht.
You will be charged from the moment the violation is established until you appear in court, which is usually the next morning.
Then you are lucky with a fine of 3.500 Baht. Higher penalties are also handed out:
Stiff penalties are being handed to drunk drivers, and you can expect less leniency from the police if you are caught driving drunk. You could be looking at a hefty fine of 60,000 baht, 6 months in prison, or both.
For your information, the legal limit for blood alcohol content while driving with a full (5 year) Thai driving license in Thailand is 0.05 (50 milligrams). The legal limit while driving on a 1 to 2 year Thai driving license or international driving permit is 0.02 (20 milligrams). This legal limit equates to grams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. To stay on the right side of the law you should only be having 1 or 2 drinks before driving.
Hans, Philippe,
my Thai son had a drink (0,6 per mille) and was stopped during a nighttime check on a ring road and taken to the central police station in Chiang Mai and thrown in jail.
Should appear in Provincial Court the next day.
I could take it for a deposit of THB 5,000 (without receipt of course), or pay THB 15.000 and get a partial refund after conviction. Ha, Ha, Ha.
It was the first time, but he was fined THB 10.000 (not 3.500) and lost his driver's license for 6 months. Money had to be declared to him through the bars and I don't remember ever seeing a receipt. The case was handled by video, the judge sat somewhere else and not visible, and a defense could not be made; a very effective conveyor belt (there were about 30 offenders) that yields a lot, only for whom?
This will undoubtedly be because he has a farang father that could/had to be settled at the station, but I also saw Thai parents receive THB 10.000 shocks at the court; Perhaps they had not paid the lump sum at the police station, or paid less, but no money than going to jail for 3 months. By the way, no one spoke English despite the large signs above the door and in the office and court.
So even the police in the court are corrupt under the eyes of the judges and all the lawyers walking around. Grab it.
It seems to me that I could have expected little cooperation from the tourist police, whether or not I live temporarily in Thailand, farang is farang, so ATM to supplement the income of the entire system.
2 x taxi is cheaper and is therefore now the rule.
Despite the above, I still enjoy Thailand and accept that it cannot be otherwise in Asia (and Africa, and America and some countries in Europe.
Maybe just not drinking too much is a solution? Aren't you bothered by farang father or something like that?
My colleague, an Indian (and not Thai) is a member of the Tourist Police AND a volunteer. He has completed a large number of training sessions. And he mainly works at Don Muang Airport on weekends.
The Tourist Police is not an official police officer and can therefore only assist but not do any real police work, despite all their badges, diplomas and decorations. I don't know what would have happened in Gringo's case if he had called for help from the Tourist Police. It may well depend on the reputation of the police volunteer in question. In addition, Gringo is not a tourist but a resident of this country.
In Gringo's case, I would have had myself taken away (I wonder if that would have happened if I had told them that I was currently at a university), and made some phone calls to people in my network. And if a fine had been paid, I would absolutely have asked for a receipt.
I NEVER pay to the police without a receipt and you always have the right to pay your fine at the police station
I don't know if you would repeat the same thing again if you spent a full night and half a day in an overcrowded Thai police cell.
I've never experienced that before.
But from what I have heard, a police cell is absolutely not the same as a prison cell and whether it is full depends very much on the circumstances, day of the week and location.
Yes, Herman, but have you ever been in that position OR do you think that “if” you are arrested for something, that you will react that way?
Greetz Rof
Shortly after picking up a rental car in the heart of Bangkok, I drove with my wife onto the toll road towards Isaan in the early afternoon. Less than 300 meters after the ticket gates, I was forced to stop by two motorcycle police officers and told that I had gone through a red light. Now I had had my driver's license for 45 years, many tons of kilometers behind the wheels and rarely or never made this mistake. My wife, always observant, hadn't seen anything either, but hey, prove it. I had to hand over my driver's license and after asking what it would cost, the prize I won was 1000 baht. I could pay that at some police station somewhere in that metropolis and then get my driver's license back there, which means that one of the 2 motorcycle soldiers would have to go there first and I would then have to go through the city without a driver's license, nice and logical. .
This would also mean that we would not arrive at our destination until very late or not at all that day. I asked my wife if she could negotiate and after a short time the price had dropped to 500 baht and of course I got my driver's license back without any paper.
This was my first (but not last) confrontation with the corruption of Thai law enforcement. I still don't believe I ran a red light because I was very attentive because of the just rented car and the crowds.
Normally I never pay without a receipt, but the result was too much for me.
don't confuse tourist police and volunteer,
(I wonder if that would have happened if I told them I'm ajarn at a university), and made some phone calls there with people in my network.
This is also a form of corruption, influencing the process by a “higher” influencer.
That is not corruption. That is to prevent corruption.
I can't help but feel that people are in awe of a teacher in Thailand.
The tricky thing in this situation is that when you call the tourist police you never know whether a volunteer is being sent or a real police officer from the tourist police. Of course, you shouldn't expect anything from a volunteer, who has no authority whatsoever, except for an impressive uniform
Apart from your comment, it seems doubtful to me whether at 4 o'clock in the morning, the time when Gringo drove into the trap, any of the Tourist Police would be available and willing to volunteer.
to rush to the location of the alcohol check and to confront the relevant officers there. By the way, there have also been quite a few negative stories on Thailandblog about police volunteers in Pattaya. And, as Chris pointed out, Gringo is not a tourist.
The tourist police are very helpful. Even in the event of a minor collision or disagreement, it can help the Farang out. Extremely friendly and there are no wrong words. (and you can be sure that the tourist police will not be police officers, they are official, uniformed volunteers who have a very serious and respected status, even among the regular police). Every Farang should put the phone number in his mobile. (tel: 1155)
do not confuse with volunteer, tourist police do exist and even with a high rank
Dear Ronald, believe me, the tourist police consists of both professional police and volunteers.
The professional personnel have all the powers just like the regular police.
Of course not the volunteers, in case of emergencies they will call in the professional tourist police.
Volunteers are often able to calm down an argument in a nightlife venue before it gets out of hand.
In addition, the volunteers come from various countries and can therefore communicate better with tourists from their own country.
The professional tourist police only speak Thai and hopefully also English.
Jan Beute.
We suffered from heavy noise pollution from the neighbors in Hua Hin (near soi 94 and 102).
My girlfriend called the regular police who did nothing.
An hour or two later I called the Hua Hin tourist police.
20 minutes later two officers arrived to resolve the problem.
Two men were also arrested (I don't know for what offenses).
So it became an exemplary collaboration between tourists and regular police.
Tourist police Hua Hin: very accurate!!!
I don't have a high opinion of the tourist police on Pratamnak Hill in Pattaya.
The connection was disconnected by telephone.
A year later with a Thai police volunteer (acquaintance) there, no interest or action was shown.
At others on Jomtien Beach, the regular police were called, but the tourist police did not show up due to a jet ski scam.
Every now and then they drive around in the gray Toyota Vios with the letters Tourist Police.
Thais call it “Show pau”
Maybe others have a better experience?!
jetskiscam experienced myself about 12 years ago on Jomtien, they asked for 60000 baht compensation for minimal damage. after threats from the gang and the police, the tourist police were called in, after a long wait
they arrived, the problem was explained, it turned out that the regular police were in on the scam. After questioning the parties involved and reprimanding the regular police officer (who had his head in the ground in shame), in my presence, in the office at the beginning of Jomtien beach . The explanation was: these jet ski operators are not licensed, so no compensation can be claimed.
But there was a problem; the jet ski gang was aware of where we were staying, so we no longer felt safe, so we paid a fraction of the first requested sum under the approving look of the tourist police. During this affair I noticed that a lot of respect is commanded by the tourist police and that I don't think they are guests to be laughed at in Thailand.
Very different from those clowns as I call those volunteers
Usually they sit at a table with a whole team, at the beginning of the Walking Street (in the evening).
Does anyone know if bicycles are also considered a public vehicle in Thailand? (like in Belgium and I assume also the Netherlands)
And would the police also let cyclists blow their whistle? Anyone have experience with this?
Regards,
Ron
I even know Belgian tourist police in Pattaya who are more corrupt than Thai police. Is a volunteer and had to run for fraud in Belgium. So pay attention!!
We received good help from the Tourist Police in Hua Hin.
Payment was made to the owner of an apartment in {soi 102} and he went to Bangkok with the money.
Tourists were involved and they ensured that we got our money back from the deposit.
Excellent service.
That should be the case.