Editing Bangkok (section)

==Crime and safety==
[[File:2010 0515 rama 4 and sathorn 24.JPG|alt=A person pushing burning tyres onto a street|thumb|Political violence has at times spilled onto the streets of Bangkok, as seen during the [[2010 Thai military crackdown|military crackdown on protesters in 2010]].]]

Bangkok has a relatively moderate crime rate when compared to urban counterparts around the world.<ref name="OSAC"/> Traffic accidents are a major hazard<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1376875/thailand-tops-road-death-ranking-list|title=Thailand tops road death ranking list|work=Bangkok Post|date=12 December 2017 |access-date=2019-05-23|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417212235/https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1376875/thailand-tops-road-death-ranking-list|url-status=live}}</ref> while natural disasters are rare. Intermittent episodes of political unrest and occasional terrorist attacks have resulted in losses of life.

Although the crime threat in Bangkok is relatively low, non-confrontational crimes of opportunity, such as pick-pocketing, purse-snatching, and credit card fraud, occur with frequency.<ref name="OSAC">{{Include-USGov |agency=Overseas Security Advisory Council |title=Thailand 2012 Crime and Safety Report: Bangkok|date=14 March 2012 |url=https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=12189 |website=Overseas Security Advisory Council website |publisher=Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State|access-date=24 September 2012}}</ref> Bangkok's growth since the 1960s has been followed by increasing crime rates partly driven by urbanisation, migration, unemployment and poverty.<!--Supported by following reference.--> By the late 1980s, Bangkok's crime rates were about four times that of the rest of the country.<!--Supported by following reference.--> The police have long been preoccupied with street crimes ranging from housebreaking to assault and murder.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Urban Crime in the Changing Thai Society: The Case of Bangkok Metropolis |first=Prathan |last=Watanavanich |pages=193–210 |title=Crime Prevention in the Urban Community |editor1-first=Koichi |editor1-last=Miyazawa |editor2-first=Setsuo |editor2-last=Miyazawa |year=1995 |publisher=Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers |place=Deventer, The Netherlands}}</ref> The 1990s saw the emergence of vehicle theft and organized crime, particularly by foreign gangs.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://edition.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/magazine/2000/1013/nat.thailand.html|first=Antony|last=Davis|title=Bangkok as Crime Central|journal=Asiaweek|date=13 October 2000|volume=26|issue=40|access-date=24 September 2012|archive-date=30 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130144536/http://edition.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/magazine/2000/1013/nat.thailand.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Drug trafficking, especially that of ''[[ya ba]]'' methamphetamine pills, is also chronic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://frontiermyanmar.net/en/thai-police-seize-45-million-worth-of-meth-from-convoy-in-bangkok|title=Thai police seize $45&nbsp;million worth of meth from convoy in Bangkok|last=AFP|website=Frontier Myanmar|date=11 May 2018 |language=en|access-date=2018-12-25|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226035309/https://frontiermyanmar.net/en/thai-police-seize-45-million-worth-of-meth-from-convoy-in-bangkok|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/thai/drug-raids-07052017163506.html|title=Thai Police Seize $20 Million Worth of 'Yaba' Meth Pills|website=BenarNews|language=en|access-date=2018-12-25}}</ref>

According to police statistics, the most common complaint received by the Metropolitan Police Bureau in 2010 was housebreaking, with 12,347 cases. This was followed by 5,504 cases of motorcycle thefts, 3,694 cases of assault, and 2,836 cases of embezzlement. Serious offences included 183 murders, 81 gang robberies, 265 robberies, 1 kidnapping, and 9 arson cases. Offences against the state were by far more common, and included 54,068 drug-related cases, 17,239 cases involving prostitution, and 8,634 related to gambling.<ref>{{cite web|script-title=th:สถิติคดีอาญา 5 กลุ่ม ปี 2553 |trans-title=5-group criminal case statistics, 2010 |url=http://statistic.police.go.th/stat/40_50/MONTH53.xls |website=สถิติคดีอาญา (Criminal case statistics) |publisher=Office of Information and Communication Technology, Royal Thai Police |format=XLS |language=th |access-date=24 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827062830/http://statistic.police.go.th/stat/40_50/MONTH53.xls |archive-date=27 August 2011 }}</ref> The Thailand Crime Victim Survey conducted by the Office of Justice Affairs of the Ministry of Justice found that 2.7 per cent of surveyed households reported a member being victim of a crime in 2007. Of these, 96.1 per cent were crimes against property, 2.6 per cent were crimes against life and body, and 1.4 per cent were information-related crimes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thaicvs.org/images/51/13Bkk.pdf |title=ข้อมูลสถิติอาชญากรรมภาคประชาชนในกรุงเทพมหานคร (Crime victim statistics, Bangkok) |website=Thailand Crime Victim Survey, 2007 |publisher=Office of Justice Affairs |access-date=24 September 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904061248/http://www.thaicvs.org/images/51/13Bkk.pdf |archive-date=4 September 2015 }}</ref>

Political demonstrations and protests are common in Bangkok. The historic uprisings of 1973, 1976, and 1992 are infamously known for the deaths from military suppression. Most events since then have been peaceful, but the series of major protests since 2006 have often turned violent. Demonstrations during March–May 2010 ended in a [[2010 Thai military crackdown|crackdown in which 92 were killed]], including armed and unarmed protesters, security forces, civilians, and journalists. Terrorist incidents have also occurred in Bangkok, most notably the [[2015 Bangkok bombing|bombing in 2015]] at the [[Erawan shrine]], which killed 20, and also a [[2006 Bangkok bombings|series of bombings]] on the 2006–07 New Year's Eve.

Traffic accidents are a major hazard in Bangkok. There were 37,985 accidents in the city in 2010, resulting in 16,602 injuries and 456 deaths, as well as 426.42&nbsp;million baht in damages. However, the rate of fatal accidents is much lower than in the rest of Thailand. While accidents in Bangkok amounted to 50.9 per cent of the entire country, only 6.2 per cent of fatalities occurred in the city.<ref>Traffic and Transportation Department, pp.&nbsp;138–144.</ref> Another serious public health hazard comes from [[Stray dogs in Bangkok|Bangkok's stray dogs]]. Up to 300,000 strays are estimated to roam the city's streets,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090608-thailand-straydogs-video-ap.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610053336/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090608-thailand-straydogs-video-ap.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 June 2009|title=Stray Dogs Overwhelming Bangkok|agency=Associated Press|work=National Geographic|publisher=National Geographic Society|date=8 June 2009|access-date=24 September 2012}}</ref> and dog bites are among the most common injuries treated in the emergency departments of the city's hospitals. Rabies is prevalent among the dog population, and treatment for bites poses a heavy public burden.{{efn|A 1993 study found dog bites to constitute 5.3 per cent of injuries seen at Siriraj Hospital's emergency department.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Kasian |last1=Bhanganada |first2=Henry |last2=Wilde |first3=Piyasakol |last3=Sakolsataydorn |first4= Pairoj |last4=Oonsombat |title=Dog-bite injuries at a Bangkok teaching hospital |journal=Acta Tropica |volume=55|issue=4|pages=249–255|date=December 1993 |doi=10.1016/0001-706X(93)90082-M|pmid=8147281 }}</ref>}}

===Calls to move the capital===
Bangkok is faced with multiple problems, including congestion, and especially subsidence and flooding, which have raised the issue of moving the nation's capital elsewhere. The idea is not new: during World War II, Prime Minister [[Plaek Phibunsongkhram]] planned unsuccessfully to relocate the capital to [[Phetchabun]]. In the 2000s, the [[Thaksin Shinawatra]] administration assigned the [[Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council]] (NESDC) to formulate a plan to move the capital to [[Nakhon Nayok province]]. The [[2011 Thailand floods|2011 floods]] revived the idea of moving government functions from Bangkok. In 2017, the military government assigned NESDC to study the possibility of moving government offices from Bangkok to [[Chachoengsao province]] in the east.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rossman |first1=Vadim |title=Capital Cities: Varieties and Patterns of Development and Relocation |date=2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-56285-6 |pages=103–4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lamb |first1=Kate |title=Thailand PM considers moving capital as Bangkok congestion takes toll |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/30/thailand-pm-considers-moving-capital-as-bangkok-congestion-takes-toll |access-date=30 September 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=30 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Katharangsiporn |first1=Kanana |last2=Theparat |first2=Chatrudee |title=A capital idea |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1761309/a-capital-idea |access-date=30 September 2019 |work=Bangkok Post |date=30 September 2019 |archive-date=30 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930151451/https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1761309/a-capital-idea |url-status=live }}</ref>