"Hello Kitty" called in to shame sloppy Thai cops

BANGKOK, Aug 6 (Reuters) Sloppy Bangkok policemen are being ordered to wear bright pink ''Hello Kitty'' armbands in a uniquely Thai twist to zero tolerance anti-crime initiatives used in New York.

Crime Suppression Division officers caught dropping litter, parking illegally or reporting late for work will get several days wearing the armbands, which come complete with the cute Japanese cat cartoon sitting on a pair of hearts.

''This is to help build discipline. We should not let small offences go unnoticed,'' Police Colonel Pongpat Chayapan said today.

''Guilty officers will be made to wear the armbands in the office for a few days with instructions not to disclose their offences. Let people guess what they have done,'' he told Reuters.

Pongpat said the idea was based on the ''broken windows'' policing theory used in New York in the 1980s and 1990s. The theory argues that getting tough on petty crime leads to a reduction in more serious offences.

Reuters SW DB1247