Effectiveness of Community Policing System in Deterring Loan Shark Harassment

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether the new Community Policing System (COPS) has seen positive results in deterring loan shark harassment within the neighbourhood and communities in which COPS operates.

Mdm Speaker, we launched the new Community Policing System (COPS) in May last year. The objective of COPS is to improve the way the Police works in, with and through the community, and it has two key aspects. First, the Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPCs) will be strengthened and given additional resources to fight crime and to engage the community. Second, technology, such as Police Cameras, will be deployed as a force multiplier. The first two NPCs to adopt the new COPS model were Bukit Merah East and Tampines. At the start of this year, we rolled out COPS to another six NPCs. Three hundred and fifty HDB blocks across various NPCs have also been fitted with Police Cameras thus far.

There have been some early positive signs since we launched COPS. Police has seen an improvement in the loan shark harassment situation at the blocks where Police Cameras were deployed. This is in the context of an overall decrease in cases of unlicensed money-ending and harassment. The footages received and retrieved from the Police Cameras have also helped solve nine crime cases and provided further leads for investigations in another 61 cases.

Our Police officers have also received positive feedback on COPS at the two pilot NPCs. Residents appreciate the more-visible Police presence, and the officers are now familiar faces on bicycle and foot patrols in their neighbourhoods. The community has also come forward to work more closely with the Police in keeping their neighbourhoods safe, with a 29% increase in the number of Citizens-on-Patrol members at the pilot areas at the end of last year.

Madam, the new COPS model has just been launched for about a year. While it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions about the efficacy of the COPS model, I am pleased with its good start in addressing the safety and security concerns of the community, including loan shark harassment. Police will push on to introduce the new COPS model to another 12 NPCs by the end of this year. Police Cameras will also be installed in another 650 HDB blocks across the various Town Councils by the end of the year.

While I have focused on COPS thus far, I want to emphasise that Police has implemented a nationwide strategy of various measures, comprising enforcement, education and community partnerships, in order to help bring down the overall loan shark harassment numbers. Police will continue with its holistic approach to deal with loan shark harassment, including leveraging on COPS as part of this effort.

I thank the Minister for the reply. It is heartening to note that there is an increase of 29% of residents who assist COPS on the bicycles and on the beat. My supplementary question is: while it is good to deter harassment, that is at the end of the game. Would COPS and Police on bicycles work with the community on the ground to deter borrowing, especially if the borrowing happens within the community, within the borders of the area that COPS patrols? So, a deterrence upstream rather than a deterrence downstream.

Madam, I thank the Member for his suggestion. I want to emphasise that we fully agree with his idea and proposal. Indeed, when we look at the efforts that have been taken and the measures overall, there are three limbs present. Enforcement, as the Member has rightly pointed out, is a downstream deterrence and is an after-the-fact activity.

At the same time, we want to work with the community. Community partnership and education efforts are key in limiting the problem upstream. This is where we can work very closely with the Police and the community groups to heighten the awareness of the dangers of this scourge and what can be done to lessen one's vulnerability to it. So, I would encourage the Member − in fact, all Members – where they have ideas and their community leaders want to engage the Police in this, to take it up with the Police. Indeed, this is why we have established the community policing arm, to deepen that partnership.

Madam, a number of the victims of these harassments are actually not the borrower. So, I would like to ask the Minister what steps would the Police take to help those who suffer because the ones who borrowed had failed to change the address in their identity cards.

Madam, I understand the Member's point and I thank him for bringing this up. Fundamentally, in order to bring peace of mind to a particular neighbourhood or group of residents, the key source of the problem is the actual harassment. That is where our Police resources are targeted − to detect and deter this kind of activity. Having said that, we have already introduced measures and legislation to render the failure to update the address on the identity card a punishable offence. If Members are aware of such cases, the cases should be reported to Police so that follow-up action can be taken.