Officer Red and White on patrol

"Kort tawt khrap , shuay long jak lot duay khrap"

It's something I've been thinking about for over a year. I've always been a socially conscious person but the police was never something I really considered whilst I was living in England. But ever since the realisation came to me that my son will need to return to England for schooling, I've decided to join the Hampshire Police.


I do have experience. I worked as a part time police assistant at Wembley Stadium for three years. I don't make an ideal policeman in physical terms. I'm five foot six inches and slim built. I've got martial arts training in Taekwondo, Hapkido, Muay Thai and Ju Jitsu but I'm no Bruce Lee and I think the latter will be the only one to really help me in arrest situations. Police officers don't get into boxing matches but they do often end up rolling on the floor in arrest situations and a choke hold or wrist lock can be of practical use then.

Still there are more challenges. For a start the forces are weary of recruits who have been overseas for a long time. So what is the solution? What can I do here to show the coppers back home how good I am? Answer? Join the Thai police! So I have. I am now a Tourist Police volunteer!

No word on if I get my uniform yet. Some farangs do, some don't. Maybe it will depend on how many doughnuts I bring for my superior. The areas for patrol are mainly based around tourist spots in Bangkok such as Nana Plaza and Silom (for some reason my wife wasn't keen on me working there) , JJ Market and both airports. Don Muang looks to be my best bet. My spoken Thai is poor but I can understand enough to get by and help out.

I'm looking forward to getting on the beat and getting some kind of experience. My main hope is that by helping out (it's unpaid) my friends at the Thai Police will give me a reference when I apply to the Hampshire Constabulary. My next hope is that Hampshire Constabulary don't respond by asking me "How much did you take?"..........

Meanwhile though, I have to face up to improving my life out here. To that end, I've just applied for position of head teacher at a very well respected school. Apparently my chances are good. Wish me luck.

****************
The constitutional referendum

Thailand went to its first public referendum this weekend on its new constitution.

I didn't blog here because I had done so much "serious" stuff lately. However, I did write a piece on the prestigious New Mandala site about it. Results were as expected. The new draft was apporved but Thailand is still divided. Thaksin's Isaan people rejected it, other regions told their own tale. I will write more about this later on.