In Reply to: tourist police posted by SHAKES on Saturday, 22. January 2005 at 02:15 Bali Time:
Tourist police are there to help tourists, not to target them or watch them. It's not a branch like the Vice Squad or the Drug Squad. (Though many would argue that in practice all police in Bali are there to hinder, rather than help.) They specialise in dealing with the sort of common crimes that affect tourists. I don't know if they actually solve many of the crimes, but they can at least file a report, which you will need for any insurance claims (usually for a negotiable fee).