December 12, 2020, 09:10 PM
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) and HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency) have launched the first of their two prototypes of the police beacon at Punggol Waterway Park Connector for one year from Dec. 2020.
The second police beacon prototype will be trialled at Sengkang Riverside Park Connector later this month.
The police beacons are equipped with a variety of features, with the aim of further deterring crime and enhancing public safety.
Key features
The police beacons are each equipped with the following:
- Motion detection lights that turn on when a person approaches the police beacon.
- Communications button linked to Police Operations Command Centre (POCC) to provide the public with real-time access to the police during an emergency.
- CCTVs which will capture real-time video footages of the police beacon’s surroundings.
- Police warning system of blinkers, siren, floodlights, and speakers which can serve as an interim intervention option to provide assistance to the public before police officers arrive.
- Electronic screen that displays crime prevention messages.
- Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for immediate access to interim medical help in an emergency.
Photo via Facebook / Inspector Clif.
Photo via Facebook / Inspector Clif.
Enhances police presence
In a joint press release on Friday (Dec. 11), SPF and HTX said that the police beacon aims to enhance police presence, increase accessibility to emergency services, and improve police response to those in need of police assistance in locations that are quieter and more secluded.
The police beacon enhances police presence because the beacon itself as well as its CCTVs serve as a visible projection of police presence even when Police officers are not physically present.
It increases accessibility by connecting members of the public quickly and directly to the police if they need police assistance in emergency situations, especially in locations which are quieter with lower human traffic.
And it improves police response because it is equipped with a range of intervention tools including siren, blinkers, floodlights, speakers and CCTVs.
If the one-year trial is successful, the public can expect to see more police beacons deployed in park connectors and other public spaces in future.
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Top photos via Facebook / Inspector Clif.
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