Police posts without policemen

Call it the Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) that never sleeps.

At the unmanned NPP, residents can make police reports, apply for a Singapore passport and drop off any found items - all without a police officer on site.

And for the first time, they can perform e-services 24 hours a day.

Yesterday, Second Minister for Home Affairs S Iswaran marked the opening of three of these pilot police posts - at West Coast, Radin Mas and Marsiling.

The new-look NPPs are the latest initiative under the Community Policing System - a police strategy that banks on technology "to enhance police operational effectiveness", said Mr Iswaran, who is also an MP for West Coast GRC. Why unmanned?

One advantage the new NPPs provide is that they help free up manpower.

More officers can then be deployed for patrols or be stationed at their respective Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPCs), says a police spokesman.

And if residents encounter any difficulties operating the e-service machines, a police officer is always contactable via the video conferencing function and a nearby landline phone.

Grassroots volunteers like Mr Thomas Lim, 60, are also on hand to guide residents with the e-services during peak hours. He says: "The revamped NPPs work (along) the same concept as a bank's automatic tellers. It's a new challenge for the grassroots, but we hope... people will use the NPPs' services."

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Convenient or not as safe?

Retiree and Radin Mas resident, Madam Fong Wai Lan, 70, likes the services provided by the new NPPs.The Radin Mas NPP is the only one with a POSB automated-teller machine, a feature that Madam Fong says is very convenient.

And she is not sweating over the revamped set-up.

"Many old people are usually afraid to approach police officers. So now, there may be more of them coming to the NPP to use its services," she says.

But for housewife Nora Jaffar, the absence of police officers takes some getting used to.

Says the West Coast resident, who is in her 40s: "Many of the residents in the area are senior citizens who are not used to technology. In an emergency, we would also rather call '999' than come down and try to figure out how to use the machines."

Have your say

Still, not all matters can be handled electronically. For instance, residents cannot change their address or register the death of their kin at the unmanned NPPs.

They have to proceed to the nearest NPC, where a police officer would handle the case manually.

A police statement says that the authorities will seek public feedback for six months before deciding if they should roll out changes to the 60 other NPPs.

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Police received 27,000 reports of items found by public last year

Found a lost item? You can now deposit it 24/7 at any of the three revamped Neighbourhood Police Posts.

Just follow the instructions displayed on the screen of the electronic drop-box.

A police spokesman said the reporting of lost-and-found items is one of the more popular transactions that NPPs handle.

Last year, the police received about 27,000 reports of items which the public found.

Wallets, purses and mobile phones were the most common items turned in.

But there were unusual finds too, such as a fast-food thermal delivery bag, a metal bed frame and a washing machine, added the spokesman.

A wallet containing $18,000 and a wedding ring worth $30,000 were also returned to their owners.

About 40 per cent of the items were traced to the owners, but not all were claimed.

Under the Police Force Act, unclaimed property may be disposed after a month.

Any unclaimed properties may then be sold off through a public auction.

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