Pattaya police volunteers got orders to not exceed their powers and assist tourists during year-end events.
Police inspector Maj. Chainarong Chaiin joined Nikom Sangkawe, chairman of the Pattaya Police Volunteer Association, and Wirat Joyjinda, chairman of the Soi Kophai Community, at a Oct. 27 meeting in the South Pattaya neighborhood to set guidelines and instructions to volunteers who will work with uniformed officers in November and December.
Chainarong said November’s reopening to foreign tourists will coincide with numerous popular events, from Buddhist Thod Kathin ceremonies to the Pattaya Music Festival to the Fireworks Festival and New Year Countdown.
Volunteers will be needed to facilitate traffic and ensure safety, helping police prevent crime during the mass gatherings. More than 100 volunteers and officers will be deployed for each of the four weekends of music concerts.
However, Chainarong said, volunteers are not police and should not exceed their authority as assistants. They are to work only under the supervision of uniformed officers and not take law enforcement into their own hands, as has happened numerous times previously.
Volunteers this year will look more the part, however, as Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome authorized the expenditure of 115,000 baht for 96 new uniforms.
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