Retention of face-to-face services at neighbourhood police centres and inclusive accessibility of online police services for elderly and non-English speakers

Question:

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what thresholds or benchmark considerations does the Ministry apply when determining if the concentration of the elderly population in geographic areas necessitates the retention of face-to-face services at Neighbourhood Police Centres; and (b) how does the Ministry track the accessibility of online police services to the elderly and non-English speaking population.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. Decisions on the deployment of unmanned Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPCs) or Neighbourhood Police Posts (NPPs) take into consideration multiple factors such as the Police’s operational needs and infrastructure plans. These deployments are necessary to allow the Police to focus their limited resources on their crime-fighting mandate, without affecting police presence or incident response.

2. Tracking the accessibility of online police services to the elderly and non-English speaking population is challenging because tracking indictors cannot easily differentiate between assisted and unassisted access. That said, Police engage these communities through various channels and are sensitive to their need to access essential policing services.

3. While more than 70% of all Police reports are already lodged through self-help options, those who require face-to-face assistance can be assisted at any of the 33 NPCs and 64 NPPs islandwide. Those who visit unmanned NPCs or NPPs can still speak with a Police officer through video-call if necessary, who can help guide the member of public through the process. The officer can also remotely lodge a police report on behalf of the individual.