The Tourist Police Bureau ( th, กองบัญชาการตำรวจท่องเที่ยว) of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

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 The Royal Thai Police (RTP) ( th, สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excludi ...

, which is the main

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

in the country. The creation of the Tourist Police is due to the fact that the

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and

entertainment industry Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have dev ...

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. On September 6, 2017, General

Prawit Wongsuwan Prawit Wongsuwon ( th, ประวิตร วงษ์สุวรรณ, , ; born 11 August 1945) is a Thai politician who is serving as the First Deputy Prime Minister and previously served as Minister of Defence from 2008 to 2011 during th ...

who is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Thailand appointed Lieutenant-General Terapon Kuptanond Commander of the Tourist Police.

Functions

The Office of the Tourist Police has the following powers and responsibilities: * 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. According to

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

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

References

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External links

Royal Decree establishing the Tourist Police
Law enforcement in Thailand Tourism in Thailand Sub-departmental government bodies of Thailand Royal Thai Police

Functions

See also

References

External links