kerouac

There aren't many things that are more unnerving than being the victim of a crime in a foreign country or dealing with police officers who don't speak your language.

This summer, France has started an experimental program of having Italian police on duty in Nice, Versailles and Disneyland, as well as in Lourdes during the Pope's visit in September. Naturally, they do not have the power to arrest anybody, but they act as interpreters, legal assistants and also give moral support to Italian victims.

Depending on the success of this year's operation, the Ministry of the Interior hopes to have more European police on duty next summer.

jdc26

Kerouac, do you know when in September the Pope will be in Nice?

kerouac

He is not going to Nice. He is going to Paris (12-13 Sept) and Lourdes (13-14-15 Sept).

I'm sorry if the syntax of my previous post was confusing.

Cholmondley_Warner

Is there a big problem with crime in Nice with British victims? He asked hopefully.

flanneruk

I don't know about last year, but the previous time the Tour de France went through Britain, the traffic was managed by French gendarmes - partly for colour, partly because they just knew the drill better.

I was told at the time they'd been sworn in as Special Constables, and therefore did have the power of arrest: the claim being they needed it as an ultimate sanction in case of some stroppy motorist refusing to obey their directions.

May well be a myth of course.

Michael

What's wrong with just hiring translators? Or is this an exchange program?

J_R_Hartley

"Is there a big problem with crime in Nice with British victims? He asked hopefully."

I'm pretty much bilingual and don't mind travelling economy.

nytraveler

Don't know about this plan - but I do know that many poice forces have exchange programs.

Several times I've seen NYC cops in London - clearly unifromed etc - but they looked SO odd without their guns. (Brisigh cops don't routinely carry them!)

The funniest was seeing a woman cop they had paired up with a British woman cop on patrol in Central London. The NYC cop looked just like any cop - but the British cop looked like a flight attendant (funny cute little cap, skirt and shoes with HEELS), rather than standard issue like the guys.

Cholmondley_Warner

There are some quite bonny plonks around these days.

I know one called Heidi. I would refuse to be arrested by anyone who looked like a page three girl and was called heidi.

Padraig

CW wrote: " I would refuse to be arrested by anyone who looked like a page three girl and was called heidi."

I am sure that there are many who would actively seek to be arrested by such a piece of filth.

sashh

I've heard of this before, I think it's been done with some football tournaments.

Some countries have tourist police, I know in Argentina you can either report a crime to the local police or you can call the tourist police.

I seem to remember that near British air bass in Germany you can call the RAF police.

jdc26

Thanks Kerouac.

jdc

Cholmondley_Warner

CW wrote: " I would refuse to be arrested by anyone who looked like a page three girl and was called heidi."

I am sure that there are many who would actively seek to be arrested by such a piece of filth.>>>>

And if I mentioned that she is gay and her girlfriend is also a cop and looks something like a younger Helen Mirren......

Padraig

CW wrote: "And if I mentioned that she is gay and her girlfriend is also a cop and looks something like a younger Helen Mirren..."

Keep going. I'm starting to get interested.

traveller1959

Nothing new.

During the FIFA Football Championship 2006 in Germany, British police were on duty to deal with British hooligans.

During UEFA Football Championship 2008 in Austria, German police were on duty to deal with German supporters (I have never heard of German hooligans).

Cholmondley_Warner

Keep going. I'm starting to get interested.>>>>

I would, but I'd need a lie down.

kerouac

I don't want to start a bashing incident, but are the normal U.S. police ever invited anywhere?

nytraveler

There is no such thing as "US police" unless you mean the FBI - and I'm sure they interact with high level police in other countries on international crime.

Other than that who do you mean?

Police from some specific city? State troopers from a particular state (often just traffic cops)? Or local cops from some little town?

I've seen NYC - which has about 40,000 cops - police on patrol in London twice - obviously as part of some exchange program.

And I do recall when a cop in Ireland was murdered - which does NOT happen - a large contingent went (chartered a couple of planes I think) - but not aware of other than that.

shellio

I can understand NIce, and I suppose Disneyland, but is there a major influx of Italian tourists to Versailles? And is the crime rate so high there?

Pegontheroad

As to whether American police are ever invited anywhere--probably not, since they're not needed because groups of American hooligans seldom travel abroad to riot and cause mayhem. At home, well, that's a different story.

However, the FBI profiler John Douglas was an important prosecution expert witness in the trial of Jack Unterweger, the Austrian serial killer. That's because we've had so many serial killers and Austria is lamentably short in that specialty.

In Lisbon in January of 2000 I was on a tour of the city with two rather macho American men. I was curious about them because they didn't seem the type to travel to Europe together. Turns out I was right. They were police detectives from Sacramento in Lisbon to escort a prisoner back to Sacto for trial.

I've always wondered what their prisoner did to merit extradition.