Fan Forum - Thai police officers punished with Hello Kitty armbands

Quote:

Wayward police officers must wear pink armbands of shame in Bangkok
By Seth Mydans
Tuesday, August 7, 2007

BANGKOK: It is the pink armband of shame for wayward police officers, as cute as can be with a Hello Kitty face and a pair of linked hearts.

Park in the wrong place, come to work late or drop a bit of litter, and an officer will be decorated with the latest insignia for the Thai police, no matter how many ribbons for valor he may already wear.

"Simple warnings no longer work," said Pongpat Chayaphan, acting chief of the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, who instituted the new humiliation this week.

"This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor," he said. "Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It's not something macho police officers want covering their biceps."

Ten of the armbands have been prepared but none had been issued as of Tuesday, said an officer who declined to give his name while discussing this sensitive topic.

"After this policy came out, the police are scared," he said. "It will be very embarrassing to walk around with Hello Kitty on your arm." It is a step down from the Crime Suppression Division's official motto: "When you have no one to turn to, come to us."

Pongpat was promoted to head the division three months ago. Trained with the American Secret Service and the Canadian police, he says he wants to modernize his force, "even though we lack the highest technology, equipment and mind-set."

An aide, Major Weeraprach Wonrat, said the chief was a believer in behavioral science and in the "broken window theory" in which small changes can have large effects.

Pink armbands for misdemeanors are a start. Stronger measures could be next for corruption and extrajudicial killings.

An early experiment in armbands was not encouraging.

When he first came in, Pongpat tried tartan. Ten tartan armbands were issued. But instead of feeling shame, Weeraprach said, the officers took them home as souvenirs.

Only one tartan arm band remains.

Commanders met again to consider strategy, he said, and agreed that Hello Kitty might work where tartan had failed.

So far, he said, there is no fallback plan. The department has not yet decided what punishment to impose if officers make off with their pink armbands as well.

:rotfl: Ingenious!