Transcript of the above video: 

At the title of this video suggests, we are discussing and I'm making this an ALERT because I don't think foreigners here in Thailand are really understanding the gravity of this change in paradigm. This is significant. I really haven't seen this since I've been here. "Big Joke" maybe a little bit but he was one person, this is an institutional change that we are seeing here. This is why again I don't usually like to just put ALERT on these videos willy-nilly, but this is one that if you are an expat, you are living here you should be kind of aware of this in the back of your mind; it's worth noting. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Phuket News, phuketnews.com, the article is titled: Step by Step: Reimagining paradise through the 'Phuket Model's and a reformed Senate. A lot information in here. As usual the Phuket News, very insightful, very good resource and I urge those who are watching this video, go check out that article in detail. First off to note, we did a video recently about this ‘Phuket Model’. That whole thing is its own paradigm in its own way and the Prime Minister seems to be pushing that. I have certain qualms about it because quite honestly the so-called "Sandbox" initiative while we were the only country during Covid that remained open in any meaningful way for purposes of Tourism for example, they have also used this to incorporate in a lot of eerie to my mind sort of overtones of totalitarianism kind of initiatives but I am going to set that aside for now. The purpose of this video is to simply talk about yeah look, Thai Law Enforcement here in Thailand they have had a mindset shift and they are not looking at 'foreigners behaving badly', foreigners kind of disregarding the Immigration systems, the various laws here in Thailand, they are not taking this in stride. In the past and maybe it was a matter of perspective, maybe not having all these foreigners around for roughly about 3 years and then they all kind of come flooding back in, bringing all their sort of craziness if you will with them resulted in the Thais doing a massive reassessment and saying 'hey do we really want this?' and I think the answer to that was No and we're now seeing the sort of policy implementation implications arising as a result of that paradigm shift. Let me just explain what I mean.

Again the Phuket News, thephuketnews.com, quoting directly:

• "Strengthening police presence: Quote: "Increasing police visibility in tourist areas, particularly those with the history of crime, will serve as a deterrent to potential offenders. Additionally, specialized training for officers in dealing with diverse tourist populations can enhance communication and understanding.
• Strictly enforcing regulations: Existing regulations on offenses like noise pollution, public intoxication and disrespect for sacred sites need to be consistently and fairly enforced. Many will scoff that officials in Thailand don't enforce anything unless there is personal gain involved but this needs to change so as to send a clear message about Thailand's commitment to maintaining order and ensuring a respectful travel environment." 

This is serious verbiage that they are using here, okay? And I think the Phuket News does a good job of articulating the paradigm shift as well as articulating the sense of resolve that clearly exists within institutional law enforcement here in Thailand. This spate of 'foreigners behaving badly' and I think the main one that really sort of got the hairs on the back of the Thai neck if you will up and got Thai hackles up a lot, was the assault of a police officer, a traffic officer by two foreigners here in Thailand and that was a heck of a moment, let me just put it that way. Thais I think saw that - including myself - I sort of saw that and I was like "what?" and from that point forward, that was a watershed moment. From that point forward, it's a different type of paradigm regarding how to deal with foreign nationals especially in terms of enforcing Thai Law and I can't stress enough how big of a deal this is. Again it's subtle in the sense that it's not going to change things sort of overnight but we are definitely seeing a change in institutional thinking that is going to have tremendous ramifications for the foreign community in Thailand over the long term.