What do the Foreign Affairs Police do besides deport people?

[Whole Lotta Lotta]

Everybody talks about how the foreign affairs police are the people that are gone to whenever a foreign worker is caught working illegally. I also know that they come when you have a traffic incident with a local. Everybody talks about these things. What I want to know is how they help foreigners, should you need them. I can't imagine all there is to their job is catching foreigners and having them thrown out of the country. They must be of some use to you, should you be the victim of a crime or need some sort of legal help. What else do they do? And how do they help foreigners ?

[CraigTPE]

What I want to know is how they help foreigners, should you need them. I can't imagine all there is to their job is catching foreigners and having them thrown out of the country. They must be of some use to you, should you be the victim of a crime or need some sort of legal help. What else do they do? And how do they help foreigners ?

I suspect their job is not to serve foreigners, but protect locals from us.

[tango42]

They roam around bars in civilian clothes where foreigners hangout.

[Super Hans]

They roam around bars in civilian clothes where foreigners hangout.

Yup.

[baberenglish]

They also pronounce da ma "mary j wanna".

[bigduke6]

They also collect red envelopes. Probably the most NB part of the job.

[kelake]

They give you their personal cell-phone number and ask you to call them if you have any problems.

[80sStar]

Foreign Affairs officers attend to any police matter involving a foreigner. Does that make them a help or a hindrance? Depends on what side of the law you most often reside. As for me, I've always found them to be helpful. I've even known friends who kept contact info for FA officers on their cellphones. They found a call to them would yield a quicker, better response than calling local police direct.

[Super Hans]

They often hinder things.

I caught a burglar once. I went to the police station and waited 2 hours for the FAP to turn up because the local police insisted on it. They sat there while I made a report in Chinese because their English wasn't very good.
It turned a 2 hour report into a 4 hour report for nothing. And the burglar, well, I don't know what happened because they didn't follow up on the case, and if they did, they didn't tell me.
They were very nice and bought me coffee, and we exchanged details and had a laugh, but I'd rather have been doing something else.
This was when I first came to Taiwan, so things might have improved or changed since then. It is reassuring when they arrive, even if they are of little use, you feel you are being represented.

I think they are mainly there to ensure everything goes well and you are treated fairly, and provide a point of contact should you need some advice or assistance with dealing with matters involving the police in Taiwan.

[80sStar]

They often hinder things.

I caught a burglar once. I went to the police station and waited 2 hours for the FAP to turn up because the local police insisted on it. They sat there while I made a report in Chinese because their English wasn't very good.
It turned a 2 hour report into a 4 hour report for nothing. And the burglar, well, I don't know what happened because they didn't follow up on the case, and if they did, they didn't tell me.
They were very nice and bought me coffee, and we exchanged details and had a laugh, but I'd rather have been doing something else.
This was when I first came to Taiwan, so things might have improved or changed since then. It is reassuring when they arrive, even if they are of little use, you feel you are being represented.

I think they are mainly there to ensure everything goes well and you are treated fairly, and provide a point of contact should you need some advice or assistance with dealing with matters involving the police in Taiwan.

You got free coffee? Now that's service!