Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Police Posts within Compound of Essential Services such as Hospitals by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

Question 1524:

Ms K Thanaletchimi: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will consider establishing police posts within the compound of essential services such as hospitals to provide easy access to immediate reporting when terror incidents are reported.

Answer:

1. In the event of a terror attack, affected members of the public should "run, hide, tell". When it is safe to do so, the public should call 999, send a text message (SMS) to 71999 if it is not safe to talk, or provide the information through the SGSecure app. There is no need nor time to physically make a report at a police post.

2. Our security forces will respond as quickly as possible. Police Officers and Auxiliary Police Officers in the vicinity, as well as Police's Emergency Response Teams (ERTs), will be among the first to arrive on scene. The ERTs conduct high-visibility patrols at locations with heavy human traffic, including hospitals, to deter would-be attackers, and to be able to respond quickly to incidents.