Not only were uniformed police not present with expat volunteers on patrol, but also the one officer stationed at the police box each night is often not there simply because he has to conduct security checks alone along three kilometres of the Patong beachfront. (See story here.)
Police on Phuket know by now that personal safety is paramount.
We’ve all seen and heard it time and again in publicity stunts of masses of police out in force at the start of each tourism high season – of all places, on Soi Bangla – for without tourists feeling that they are safe here, Phuket and the rest of Thailand can kiss their tourism industry goodbye.
This fear of an international image that Thailand is not safe to travel to likely even sparked the debacle that became the police “investigation” into the world-famous Koh Tao murders.
Meanwhile, there are many unruly brawls in Patong bars that go unreported. Fold into this the number sex attacks, which are infamous for not being reported due to the very nature of the assault, and we’re left to guess what else is going on under the cloak of silence.
On Col Pongphichan’s side is the plain fact that nearly all of the violent attacks even reported by The Phuket News do not happen in the resort town. They happen elsewhere, either in or around Phuket Town or in darker areas at night in residential areas, with most of them stemming from personal conflicts.
This may indicate that Patong is in fact a lot safer than people might think. Perhaps the hordes of tourist families who travel to Patong has made the town a “family fun” version of its former self. Maybe. But it is not for the police to risk the safety of the public on this guess.
Col Pongphichan did not address this issue. He also did not mention the number of officers at his disposal. Just one officer for that police box, at that location, on a Friday night? Dumbfounding.
What is obvious from the incident that shown this issue into sharp relief is that goons are willing to snub the law in Patong, and willing to threaten, intimidate or harm volunteers doing a policeman’s job for him – for free – even if they are wearing uniforms.
Some police presence is needed on Soi Bangla at all times, even if it is just a plastic dummy fitted with high-resolution CCTV cameras and a sign saying: “We are watching you.”