NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICE POSTS (Increase in number)

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the present number of Neighbourhood Police Posts; (b) what plans there are to increase the number of NPPs; and (c) what steps are being taken to integrate the police further in the community life of the neighbourhood.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: There are presently 90 Neighbourhood Police Posts (NPPs) in operation in all the Police Land Divisions. Another one is being built in Choa Chu Kang and will be ready by the end of the year. By then there will be 91 NPPs under the NPP programme that was started in 1983.

Over the past ten years, Singapore's population has shifted significantly due to urban renewal and the setting up of satellite towns such as Pasir Ris New Town, Choa Chu Kang New Town and Bishan. As a result some of the existing NPPs are no longer strategically located. Police is reviewing the number and locations of these NPPs to assess whether they are suitably located to serve the community. Wherever necessary NPPs will be relocated.

The NPP system is an important component of community policing in Singapore. Police have made various improvements to the NPP system to enable them to be more responsive to the community. Two years ago, a `problem-solving' approach was introduced and it is still being emphasised. Under this approach, NPP officers are trained and encouraged to look at the root causes of community problems rather than just respond to the symptoms. One example was highlighted in the newspapers recently where an NPP officer responded to frequent complaints of noise pollution by residents. He discovered that the cause of the problem was a resident who suffers from Down's Syndrome. Feeling bored during the day the resident had become a nuisance. The NPP officer eventually found the resident a job at a nearby centre and the problem was solved.

Our NPP system was originally based on the Japanese Koban system. In January this year, Police invited a team of experts from Japan to observe the progress of our NPP system as against developments in Japan and make recommendations to improve the system. The experts were impressed with our system and endorsed the various schemes to integrate the Police into community life in Singapore.

One of the functions of NPPs is to provide community services to the residents. This includes taking of police reports, dealing with loss and found cases, recording of change of addresses, registering deaths, etc. Currently, certain Police services to the public are offered by Police Divisional Headquarters and more specialised cases are dealt with by Traffic Police and CID. Police is considering devolving more services to the NPPs. This will bring an even greater range of police services nearer the community, thereby improving the quality of service to the public and integrating the police further with the community.