Phuket Chief of Police admits tourism crime is too high in Thailand

Samantha Shankman

March 14th, 2013 at 4:07 PM EDT

Photo Credit: A Phuket police officer hands out tickets to tourists for riding bikes without helmet. Flickr / William Cho

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Thailand is an evergreen destination always popular with foreign tourists, but neglecting to get a handle on its crime rate will hurt tourism just as regional competition rises.

The chief of police in Phuket, Thailand, has asked for help to reduce the number of serious crimes against visitors in the popular beach resort. While announcing new crime figures for the island, police chief Maj-Gen Chote Chawanwiwat called for 5,000 more officers to help protect tourists from what local news sites describe as “mafia-style” crime. The figures revealed that seven

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