Debated in Parliament on 7 Oct 2014.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether CCTVs can be installed at all new BTO flats to increase security in the estate before the residents collect their keys; and (b) how MHA and HDB are co-ordinating efforts to make housing estates more secure.
Madam, as part of the Community Policing System (COPS), Police will install cameras at all 10,000 HDB blocks and multi-storey car parks (MSCPs) by 2016. These include both existing HDB blocks and new HDB blocks that will be completed by 2016. The installation programme is on track and we are currently at the one-third mark, having installed 18,000 cameras in 3,300 blocks. So, I want to thank Members for their support of the installation of Police Cameras in their respective wards.
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Police consider a variety of factors, such as local crime trends, community feedback and Town Council recommendations, when deciding on the installation schedule, whether for existing or newly built HDB blocks. To expedite installation in new HDB blocks, Police have worked with HDB to incorporate Police Camera requirements into the design.
Police also work closely with HDB to enhance the safety and security of housing estates. Police crime prevention advisories are featured on the HDB website and publications to raise residents' crime awareness and vigilance. HDB also takes Police security inputs into account when carrying out development or infrastructural works.
In addition, Police actively partner in HDB events organised for residents at new housing precincts. At these events, Police disseminate crime prevention advisories and invite new residents to join Neighbourhood Watch Groups or partner the Police in joint patrols under the Citizens-on-Patrol initiative.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah.
Thank you, Mdm Speaker. My question is: for all the future new BTO flats, will the CCTVs be installed at the same time? That means, when the residents collect their keys to these new flats, the CCTVs are already there? At this point, I really have problems answering residents who asked why it was not done when the flats were being constructed.
Madam, I appreciate the Member's question and intent. We are in the transitional period because this is a programme that is being implemented progressively. That is why by the end of 2016, we expect a full rollout. In this interim period, there will be circumstances or certain blocks which may not have their blocks installed with CCTVs yet. For new blocks, as the Member has described, what will happen is, first, provisions will be made. For those that are being built and completed in the next two-year period, cameras will be installed. Beyond that, once we hit a steady state situation, the roll-out can be more in tandem with the development of new blocks.
Mr Zaqy Mohamad.
I thank the Minister for his reply and I am glad to say that for the blocks that have implemented these cameras, we have seen very positive feedback from residents. I would like to ask the Minister if MHA would be prepared to look at expanding the role of security for these CCTV cameras, for example, at bicycle bays. We did a trial with the Neighbourhood Police Post to extend one of the CCTVs to cover a bicycle bay. Residents had always complained that their bicycles got stolen from this bicycle bay. We found that
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the number of bicycles that got stolen was reduced significantly. However, there is no existing budget to cover for some of these extended security roles. Since the CCTVs are in place, will the Ministry consider expanding the role of securing our HDB flats?
Madam, I thank the Member for his question. We are in the process of implementing the cameras and we are already receiving requests to broaden the coverage. I would say this: we are cognisant of the fact that there are other needs in the community. Where there is a local priority or concern, Police factor that in, in its consideration when deciding on deployment of cameras geographically. They also take into account Town Council input and local community input. Beyond this programme, when looking at how we can extend it, whether there is a need and how and where it should be targeted, we would certainly take the Member's feedback into consideration.
Order. End of Question Time.
[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos 17-19, 22-25, 31, 33, 35-39, 41-43, 46 and 48 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix. Question Nos 20-21, 26-30, 32, 34, 40, 44-45, 47 and 49 have been postponed to the sitting of Parliament on 8 October 2014.]
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