"Ok officer, I give . . . . Is that a Hello Kitty Armband?"

Turns out that police officers in Thailand have been running amok - the solution? Force an officer who commits an infraction to wear a plaid armband:

"An early experiment using armbands was not encouraging. Pongpat first tried using plaid ones. But instead of feeling shame, Weeraprach said, the officers took them home as souvenirs. The force has only one of the 10 it originally issued."

Scratch that - let's go with "Hello Kitty" armbands instead:

"After that misfire, police commanders met again to consider strategy, he said, and agreed that Hello Kitty might work where tartan had failed."

"No matter how many ribbons for valor a Thai officer may wear, if he parks in the wrong place, shows up late for work or is seen dropping a bit of litter on the sidewalk, he can be ordered to wear the insignia."

"It is the pink armband of shame for wayward police officers, as cute as can be with a Hello Kitty face and a pair of linked hearts."

“This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor,” he said. “Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It's not something macho police officers want covering their biceps.”

“After this policy came out, the police are scared,” the officer said. “It will be very embarrassing to walk around with Hello Kitty on your arm.” It is a step down from the Crime Suppression Division's official motto: “When you have no one to turn to, come to us.”