Neighbourhood Police Centre - History

History

The neighbourhood police centre (NPC) is a result of a review of the Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) system initiated in 1996. While the NPP has helped to reduce crime rates since its introduction in 1983, and perceived positively by the general public, it was limited in its ability to offer greater convenience to the community due to their limited size and scope of duties in individual posts. The high number of NPPs entailed extensive resources spread over many installations, putting pressure on limited resources available to the police, particularly in terms of manpower. The limited scope of the NPP system was also seen as being less optimal in maximising the operational capabilities of individual police officers, and affecting its abilities to retain talent.

Pooling the NPPs into larger entities known as NPCs was thus proposed as a solution, although it was not meant to completely replace NPPs. About two thirds of NPPs were planned to be retained so as to maintain convenience to the general public, although many will no longer operate round the clock. An intercom system was introduced to overcome this should public assistance be needed when the NPP is closed. With a larger pool of officers and resources, each NPC was able to provide more services in one location with the aim of reducing the time needed to close each case. Each NPC Officer was also expected to handle not only front-line duties, but also basic investigation work and administrative duties. NPCs would directly liaise with the community for joint programmes and operations within their jurisdiction. This was also helped by having some NPCs sharing the same building with other community agencies, such as Community Centres.

In 1997, plans were drawn up the roll out the NPC system across the country over four phases. The Pilot Phase was introduced in Clementi Police Division in October 1997, with the building of three NPCs. The first NPC, Queenstown Neighbourhood Police Centre, was opened at a temporary site opposite Queenstown MRT Station on 1 October 1997, and officially opened by Mr Wong Kan Seng, Minister for Home Affairs, on 20 December 1997. The first phase was planned to be implemented in February 1999 to cover the West Region with six NPCs, the second phase by October 1999 covering the East and North-East Eegions with 12 NPCs, and the third phase in the Central Region with 11 NPCs by July 2000. There would thus be 32 NPCs, and the number of NPPs would be reduced from 91 in 1997 to 66 by 2000.

During the implementation of the plan, several refinements were made, including an abandonment of the planned replacement of the Land Divisions with Regional Commands, and a review of the organisational setup within the NPCs. The roll-out faced a discernible level of public discontent, many of whom were still unaware of the NPC system despite extensive publicity efforts by the police. The primary concern was over the closure of NPPs within their neighbourhoods, and the reduced operation hours of retained NPPs.

Nonetheless, all 32 NPCs were successfully opened, although some were delayed due to slower urban development in some areas than expected. The 32nd NPC, Sengkang Neighbourhood Police Centre in Sengkang New Town had its opening delayed until 4 October 2004. More NPCs are planned for areas slated for development, including Punggol, Seletar and Simpang.