Photo: Jan Spelda [Getty Images]
It’s not easy for small towns to compete when it comes to tourism. Unlike larger cities, you simply lack the needed attractions and hot spots. So Pierre Achkar, mayor of the town of Brummana — around 10 miles outside Beirut, Lebanon — tried a different approach when advertisements for local restaurants and shops weren’t boosting the local economy. Enter female police wearing booty shorts.
Yes, you read that correctly. The Lebanese town recently changed the standard police uniform for women on the force to a black t-shirt and pair of black shorts. These seem to vary in size and length from standard issue to Daisy Duke, depending on the lady wearing them.
Dubbed the “Hot Traffic Police,” Achkar has put the somewhat scantily clad women on display near the town center in hopes of attracting as many eyes as possible.
Brummana recruited policewomen. And they dressed them like that. Look at what their male counterparts are wearing. Are these women supposed to help keep the safety of the city or be the touristic attractions in it? pic.twitter.com/2pbOyncQJg
— Laudy Issa (@laudyissa) June 17, 2018
“Ninety-nine percent of the tourists in the Mediterranean region wear shorts,” explained Broummana’s Mayor. “We in Lebanon want to change the bleak picture of Lebanon in the West,” Achkar told RT’s Ruptly video agency.
Understandably, reaction to the “Hot Traffic Police” has been mixed. Recent recruit Samata Saad, for instance, claims she enjoys the job. “We came willingly to this work and we have accepted it with enthusiasm and we still hope that it will return in every summer season,” she said.
I’m not sure how much these hot cops will help Brummana’s tourism dollars. First and foremost, a bunch of beautiful women in tiny shorts aren’t going to provide any help when it comes to reducing potential car accidents.
