DEPLOYMENT OF ARMED POLICE OFFICERS IN PUBLIC PLACES

Column: 1022

DEPLOYMENT OF ARMED POLICE OFFICERS IN PUBLIC PLACES: 9.

Ms Indranee Rajah asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether the deployment of armed police officers from Special Operations Command in public places is due to an assessment of increased risk of national security.

The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Mr Speaker, Sir, the deployment of the officers from the Special Operations Command (SOC) does not signal an assessment of increased risk

Column: 1023

to our national security. Like the public Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) systems deployed at Newton Food Centre, Boat Quay and Little India, the projection of strong police presence at various locations is part of the ongoing effort to keep Singapore safe and secure. It serves as an added deterrent to terrorist activities, provides assurance to the public, and reminds the public of the importance of constant vigilance.

The operations will be carried out at various locations in Singapore, including the entertainment, commercial and residential areas. The timings and locations of the operations will not be specified in the interest of operational security.

Thus far, the Police are encouraged by the generally positive reaction from the public since such operations have commenced. We hope that Singaporeans will continue to take these changes in their stride and accept them as part of the daily landscape, while maintaining their vigilance at all times and be resilient when confronting the terrorist threats.

Ms Indranee Rajah (Tanjong Pagar): If I may ask the Minister a couple of supplementary questions. Firstly, apart from projecting the image of strong presence, what specificallythe Special Operations Officers intend to do? Are they merely just to patrol or are they expected to be able to respond in the event of an emergency?

The reason why I ask is that during the National Day Investiture, when I was in the area, I was not able to find the car park entrance. To be fair, of course, that was my fault. But I actually asked one of the Special Operations Officers where the entrance was. To be fair to him, he was extremely helpful and cooperative for which I gave full credit, but he did not know where the entrance was. So he asked his officer who did not know where

Column: 1024

the entrance was and they then asked, I think, either a parking valet or somebody else nearby who did know. So I gave full credit to them for the helpfulness.

Mr Speaker: It is a rather long supplementary question.

Ms Indranee Rajah: My question is this, Sir. I am just a bit concerned. If the officers are patrolling, they must know the points of ingress and egress and, generally, the access routes to the area. So, my question is: what is the extent of their responsibility?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, I am quite amused by the experience of Ms Indranee Rajah. The SOC officers are not car park attendants. So, of course, theymay not know where the entrance of this National Day Investiture was supposed to be, because they were supposed to guard the outside of the building. And theyshould know where the car parks are and they should know where cars are supposed to enter. But as to where Ms Indraneewas supposed to enter, I am afraid that they may not know.

I understand there were some difficulties with regard to the parking arrangement for those who turned up at the National Day Investiture, but these were operational issues which had been looked into. Let me assure Members that the problemwill not occur next year.I was very concerned thatthere wasa long queueof people trying to get into the venue - and there was some confusion as towhere they should enter the Suntec City Convention Centre.

Ms Indranee Rajah: Sir, I thank the Minister for his response. That was not specifically my question. My question was: for Special Operations Officers, to what extent are they expected to be able to respond to emergency, for example, and in order to be able to do that, it requires a certain familiarity with the

Column: 1025

area? So it is not a question of access to car parks.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Yes, I get that point too. One of the responsibilities, of course, is to respond to emergencies. If they are not there to do the job, then what are theysupposed to be there for? They are supposed to do the patrol and, at the same time, they are supposed to get themselves to be familiarised with the area. In fact, one of the objectives of deployment of our SOC officers is to get to know the area better so that when they are needed in that specific location, they know what to do about the building, what to do about the accesses, the roads,etc.So that is part and parcelof their deployment. And they were not just in areas whichhad been publicised, they were also in many other areas which have not been publicised.We can expect to see them inthe neighbourhood, in the business district, in the MRT stations,and so on.

As for this case where they are actually deployed at the Suntec City, I am sure with time they will also get to know the place better. But,let us say, we have an incident in Suntec City, the Division officers in charge would definitely know the place very well because they are the ones whovisit the place very often and they shouldknow the actual layout of the building, just like our officers from the Civil Defence Force, who knowthe layout of the building and the various accesses.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam (Nominated Member): Could I ask the Minister how were the places for CCTV chosen, ie, Boat Quay, Little India and Newton Food Centre, and whether Geylang is also a place perhaps that CCTV might prove useful?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, the public places where the closed circuit television cameras would be placed in areasof

Column: 1026

concern to the security agencies.When we first started deploying these cameras at Little India, for example, it was also for reasons of crime. And now it has gone beyond that. We have gone to Boat Quay, Newton, and so on. And who knows, we may also find them in Geylang in future.