Tourist Police (Thailand)

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Tourist Police Bureau
กองบัญชาการตำรวจท่องเที่ยว
Official Seal
Official Seal
AbbreviationTPB
Agency overview
Formed2017
Jurisdictional structure
National agencyThailand
Operations jurisdictionThailand
General nature
  • Local civilian police
Operational structure
HeadquartersBang Phli, Samut Prakan, Thailand
Police officers1,700
Agency executive
  • , Commissioner
Parent agencyRoyal Thai Police
Website
www.touristpolice.go.th

The Tourist Police Bureau (Thai: กองบัญชาการตำรวจท่องเที่ยว) of Thailand was formed on September 1, 2017. It was elevated from the Tourist Police Division, which was formed in 1992 and traces its origins to 1976. The Tourist Police is a department of the Royal Thai Police, which is the main law enforcement agency in the country. The creation of the Tourist Police is due to the fact that the tourism and entertainment industry in Thailand is growing every year, and the number of people arriving in the country is constantly increasing. The priorities of the Tourist Police include cooperation with foreign nationals and the promotion of their security.[1]

On September 6, 2017, General Prawit Wongsuwan who is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Thailand appointed Lieutenant-General Terapon Kuptanond Commander of the Tourist Police.[2]

Functions[]

The Office of the Tourist Police has the following powers and responsibilities:[3]

  • Planning development strategies, monitoring, providing advice to other police departments.
  • To ensure the safety of the king, regent, privileged persons and members of the royal family.
  • 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.
  • If necessary, help tourists cooperate with other police departments.
  • To contribute to the improvement of the country's tourist image.

Tourist police are uniformed personnel who lack police powers and are largely responsible for writing out reports for insurance companies for victims of theft. In more serious cases, they will translate reports to be passed on to the regular police in Bangkok. Recently recruiting foreign nationals living in Thailand.

According to Reuters correspondent, Andrew Marshall, "The country has a special force of Tourist Police, set up specifically so that foreigners have as little contact as possible with the ordinary police—the effect on the crucial tourism industry would be chilling."[4]

According to one source, there are 1,700 enlisted tourist police on the force, and has its own S.W.A.T.[5]

See also[]

References[]

[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

  1. ^ https://touristpolice.go.th/%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B9%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%97%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%A7/
  2. ^ https://touristpolice.go.th/
  3. ^ https://touristpolice.go.th/%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%8C-%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%88/
  4. ^ Marshall, Andrew (2010-10-04). "The curse of Thailand's Queenly blue diamond-Reuters". FACT – Freedom Against Censorship Thailand. Reuters. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  5. ^ Charuvastra, Teeranai (10 October 2017). "Foreign Volunteer Cops Accused of Extorting Phuket Businesses". Khaosod English. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  6. ^ "The professional development of tourist police in Thailand : an investigation into English communication competency / Pat Romaya". trove.nla.gov.au. Trove, National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Thai tourist police vow crackdown on taxi drivers' scams". asiaone.com. AsiaOne. 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on November 24, 2017.
  8. ^ "4 million expected to travel within Thailand during Songkran Festival, police urge tourists to play safe". straitstimes.com. The Straits Times. 13 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Useful contact numbers in Thailand". mfa.gov.sg. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore).
  10. ^ "Page 1, Please contact the following centers near you OR contact our Head Quarter in Bangkok" (PDF). thaiembassy.org. Thai Embassy.
  11. ^ "Thai Tourist Police beginning crackdown on 200,000 over-stayers". samuitimes.com. Samui Times. 14 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Tourist police plan criminal checks on 1,400 Nigerians". nationmultimedia.com. Nation Multimedia. 10 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Thailand's Tourist Police Arrested 107 Foreigners in Coordinated Raids Across the Country". chiangraitimes.com. . 22 June 2018.

External links[]

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