PC Softly Softly

Odd story on the Beeb recently (actually, not that recently at all, but I’ve only just got around to posting this) about Thai police chiefs who are forcing officers who commit minor infringements, such as being late for work or parking in the wrong place, to wear bright pink Hello Kitty armbands as a mark of shame.

The intention is to embarrass the officers into not repeating their misdemeanours by publicly humiliating them as they pound the streets of Bangkok. "This is to help build discipline,” Police Colonel Pongpat Chayapan told Reuters, “We should not let small offences go unnoticed."

Nice one Pongpat. It’s a decidedly odd, but inventive (and probably effective) form of punishment which should be adopted in the UK. British bobbies guilty of similar “crimes” should be forced to walk the beat with those rucksacks shaped like sheep (complete with dangly legs) strapped to their backs, or wear anti-stab jackets with ‘I [heart] NY’ or the logos of West End musicals emblazoned across the front.

Mind you, many more cases of police brutality might go unreported as your average Mr Victim isn’t going to be too proud of being beaten up by someone who looks like a camp tourist.