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Singapore is set to increase the number of police cameras island-wide from 90,000 to at least 200,000 by 2030.

Home affairs minister K Shanmugam said during a parliamentary motion on Aug. 3 that these cameras will help detect, deter, and solve cases.

Shanmugam, who is also the law minister, added that the way cameras and eyewitness testimony work are no different as a method of bearing witness to events that take place in public.

"Conceptually, having cameras in public spaces is no different from the police interviewing eyewitnesses to establish what happened," he said.

“The camera is a constant, ever-present eyewitness, whose memory won’t be suspect. It’s literally black-and-white evidence.”

People want police cameras around

Criticism that surveillance cameras invade people's privacy overlooked the point that most people want to live in a safe and secure environment, he added.

Shanmugam said surveys showed that people feel safer when police cameras are placed prominently in their neighbourhoods.

The more than 90,000 police cameras have been installed in public places such as housing estates, neighbourhood centres and car parks since 2012.

The effectiveness of police cameras was on display in April 2021.

Shanmugam cited the case of how an auxiliary police officer suspected of carrying a gun and robbing a moneylender in Jurong in April 2021 had been caught in five hours, with the help of footage from police cameras.

Background

The motion was to commemorate the 200 years anniversary of the Singapore Police Force (SPF), which was set up in 1820.

During the motion, Shanmugam paid tribute to 125 police officers who died in the line of duty.

Some families of those who died serving were present in the gallery at Parliament House on Tuesday.

The motion was tabled by Members of Parliament (MPs) Christopher de Souza of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Murali Pillai of Bukit Batok SMC and Patrick Tay of Pioneer SMC.

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