Tech Tools of Tomorrow: Three Highlights of the SPF Workplan 2018

Stepping up our crime-fighting efforts via the new Police Smartphone, a wheeled robotic platform and a powerful yet handy tool for analysing crime scenes.

Leveraging technology to enhance frontline operations – this was the theme of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) Workplan 2018, held on 3 May 2018. The annual event saw the SPF roll out a range of tech-based, crime-fighting innovations. Here are three to look out for. 



Police Smartphone
It may look just like a regular handphone, but it has the potential to take law enforcement in Singapore to the next level. Launched at the SPF Workplan Seminar 2018, the Police Smartphone offers a range of apps that help frontline officers respond faster and more effectively on the ground. 



The Police Smartphone currently has six specially designed apps that are hosted on a secured platform (with two-factor authentication and other safeguards), with more in the works. Popular apps include: 

OnTalk – Mobile secured messaging: OnTalk lets officers communicate and share information securely via encrypted text messages and audio, image and video files. The app comes with a directory of officers’ contact details as well as a “Mission: Impossible”-style self-delete function for messages. 

Share-IT – Real-time data at your fingertips: This app gives officers real-time access to a database of shared information. This is especially helpful during deployments. “Previously, officers on deployment carried a physical card that had key guidelines and contingencies,” explained Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Chia Xinling, 26, an Investigation Officer (IO) at Central Police Division. “When any deployment info was updated, all the cards had to be changed. But with Share-IT, we can all keep track of the latest instructions and updates in real-time.”

IO Mobile eDiary – Case information on the go: This app lets IOs record case details in the field. This data is then automatically updated within the case management system, streamlining the administrative work that needs to be done by officers and letting them focus on their core duties. “As IOs, we need to record case details, and this is usually done in our case-books,” said SUPT Lee Ting Wei, 27. “But with the Mobile eDiary, we can now do this faster and more accurately.” 

The Police Smartphone is issued to individual officers and has been trialled by 700 officers from the Central Police Division since October 2017. By end-2018, it will be in use at all Police Land Divisions. 



MATAR (Multi-purpose All-Terrain Autonomous Robot) 2.0
One area that the SPF has been actively exploring to enhance the capabilities of frontline officers is robotics. Meet MATAR 2.0, the latest robotic platform to take the spotlight. Here are its key features: 

• Autonomous navigation with dynamic obstacle avoidance 
• 360-degree live video surveillance
• Facial recognition capabilities
• Sound anomaly detection (MATAR can tell when a drone is approaching, for example)
• Human-robot interaction

3D Handheld Scanner
Smaller, lighter, more mobile and easier to use – that’s the SPF’s new 3D Handheld Scanner in a nutshell. This powerful tool lets Crime Scene Specialists do real-time scans in confined spaces or hard-to-reach areas. 

The 3D Handheld Scanner captures valuable data at crime scenes, and can even take accurate measurements without having to touch the objects and spaces being scanned. The Scanner complements the current terrestrial laser camera used by the SPF for documenting crime scenes, and will be trialled by frontline units from this month onwards. 
 
Click here to read the speech by Minister for Home Affairs Mr K Shanmugam at the SPF Workplan Seminar 2018.