From house visits to Zoom chats: How police adapt to challenges

Inspector Lam Yew Keong is no stranger to policing in a pandemic.

He was deployed to Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre during the Sars outbreak in 2003 to prevent unauthorised personnel from entering the market.

"My family was constantly worried as I frequently came into contact with strangers or worked in an environment that might expose me to the virus, such as hospitals," said the 44-year-old, who is married with two children.

The experience has helped him and his family cope with anxieties over Covid-19, allowing him to focus on new challenges to community policing.

He was speaking to the media last week about changes in community policing over the years.

Insp Lam, who is deputy officer-in-charge of the community policing unit at the Queenstown Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC), said one new challenge is educating seniors about scams.

A record high of 15,756 cases were reported last year, with scammers taking more than $201 million from their victims.

"I used to work with a newer estate with younger residents. To engage them, we could use social media, but it's harder to engage seniors," Insp Lam said.

While he used to go door to door to speak to seniors about crime trends in the area, he now works with eldercare centres to engage them on videoconferencing platform Zoom.

The Queenstown NPC is the first such centre to be set up in Singapore, in 1997.

It offers a wider suite of services than the neighbourhood police post (NPP), which was introduced in 1983 to promote community policing.

There are now 35 NPCs and 62 NPPs in Singapore.

Today's community policing system was introduced in 2012, with each NPC having a crime strike force to tackle localised crimes and a community policing unit to engage the community and conduct patrols.

Inspector Muhammad Rostam Togiman, 42, deputy officer-in-charge of the crime strike force at Queenstown NPC, was also at last week's session with the media.

He said having eyes and ears on the ground is essential.

He recounted how he was able to catch a man who was selling contraband cigarettes, based on a tip-off from a resident whom he had befriended during his patrols.

While police cameras are now widely installed in public areas and have helped in identifying suspects, the need for close ties with the community remains, Insp Rostam said.

Efforts to engage the community have been paying off, he added.

"People used to be more wary of the police. Now, they're more willing to work with us, and we reach out more to build up that trust."