Sembawang Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) has rolled out the Community Policing System (COPS) and the ‘United Against Crime 2015’ initiative to strengthen community engagements and garner support from our community partners in Sembawang estate. The launch took place on 10 May 2015 at the hard court beside Blk 411 Sembawang Drive from 10 am to 12 pm. Dr Lim Wee Kiak, MP for Nee Soon GRC (Canberra) graced the event as the Guest of Honour.
2 The event sought to generate awareness about the enhanced capabilities of Sembawang NPC under COPS. Sembawang NPC also honoured their Citizen-on-Patrol (COP) members who have actively contributed to the safety and security of the neighbourhoods by presenting them with Police statuettes personalised with the names of their COP groups.
Community Policing System
3 COPS is a transformation of the NPC policing model that builds on the success of Police’s community policing strategy, which focuses on a shared responsibility towards crime prevention, and brings the Police even closer to the community. COPS was first launched in May 2012 at the two pilot NPCs: Bukit Merah East and Tampines NPCs. Since then, COPS has been implemented in phases across all the NPCs in Singapore. The roll out of COPS at Sembawang NPC completes the transition of all 35 NPCs to COPS, marking another milestone of Community Policing in Singapore.
United Against Crime 2015 Initiative
4 Under the ‘United Against Crime 2015’ initiative, the officers from the newly formed Community Policing Unit (CPU) led all the 17 different Citizen-on-Patrol (COP) groups in a joint mass patrol around all the neighbourhoods in the Sembawang estate. These COP groups are made up of grassroots, residents, NPCC cadets from the neighbouring schools and conservancy workers from Nee Soon Town Council. Through this initiative, the Police hope to galvanise the support of like-minded residents to participate in COP activities, and thus enhancing the ‘kampung spirit’ within the Sembawang estate.
5 Among these COP groups is a mother-daughter pair that has participated in every single citizen patrol ever since they joined our COP group in June 2014. The daughter, who is a NPCC cadet from the neighbouring Sembawang Secondary School, got to know of the COP programme during one of the school talks by Sembawang NPC officers. She said, “I got interested in the Citizen-on-Patrol programme because I have always aspired to be a Police officer when I grow up and I want to contribute to the community”. After attending a few citizen patrols, she invited her mother to participate. Her mother enjoyed the programme because “despite being a homemaker, I can also help my fellow residents by being the eyes and ears for the Police”.
6 Another resident, Mr Ronald Wong, said, “As residents, we are very familiar with our fellow residents and the neighbourhood. Because of this, we are the best people to spot any suspicious characters or anything that are out of norm in our neighbourhood.” He added, “These citizen patrols also allow the residents to send a strong message to any crook that we are working with the Police to keep this neighbourhood safe.” During one of the night citizen patrols, the COP group from Canberra Zone 5 Residents’ Committee led by Mr Wong, spotted a few foreign registered vehicles parked suspiciously at a multi-storey carpark. They called for the Police who discovered cartons of contraband cigarettes in the vehicles.
7 Deputy Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division, Superintendent Leon Chan said, “This initiative builds upon the strong partnership between Ang Mo Kio Police Division and our community partners by exhibiting our unity and determination towards crime fighting in the neighbourhood. We want to send a clear message to any potential offender that the Police and the community are working very closely to prevent, deter and detect any criminal activities in our neighbourhoods.”
8 Residents who are interested to join as a COP member can register their interests by sending an email to SEMBAWANG_NPC@SPF.GOV.SG, or by approaching our officers at Sembawang NPC or our CPU officers when they organise road shows and conduct house visits to engage residents.
*Please refer to Annex A for the photographs of the event.
Annex A
Photo 1: Police Defensive Tactics Demonstration
Photo 2: GOH with Citizen-on-Patrol leaders
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Photo 3: Rollout of COPS and United Against Crime 2015 initiative by Sembawang NPC
Photo 4: GOH and Deputy Commander taking a tour of the exhibition booths
Photo 5: Resident at crime prevention booth
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
13 May 2015 @ 9:50 PM