Police in Thailand’s Phuket Province are preparing to expand the “Phuket Eye” security model to enhance safety on the resort island.
The commander, Major General Sinlert Sukhum, said Phuket Eye, part of the Phuket Model initiative, is a cooperative project that safeguards safety, prioritizing crime suppression, tourist safety inspection, and traffic management.
Speaking during a recent six-month report briefing, Sinlert said the Phuket Eye has helped police arrest 369 foreigners since Jan. 1. Of those, 87 were charged with illegal immigration, 65 with drunk driving, 27 with working in a prohibited job, and 23 with drug offenses. Police also arrested 28,809 foreigners for violating traffic laws.
In addition, “Phuket Eye” helped police to control traffic more effectively, particularly in a helmet-wearing promotion initiative and public car management.
Sinlert said that no deaths as a result of road accidents were reported during this year’s Songkran festival.
Regarding future plans, he said Phuket Provincial Police plan to spend at least 98 million THB (US$3 million) on boosting the number of CCTV cameras from 223 to 503 across the island by next year.
The cameras will be connected to the Phuket Provincial Police database and can store footage for up to 30 days.
Local police will intensify operations on safety for tourists while enhancing the island’s world-class destination image on safety, said Sinlert.
Thailand, the second largest economy, received 16.61 million tourist arrivals from Jan. 1 to June 29, falling by 4.56% from the same period a year earlier, the Tourism Ministry said on Tuesday.
