Bedok North NPC Visit 2007
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Our unit O.C, Miss Poh, organised a trip to the neighboring police division, the bedok land division. We were excited about the trip as it is not often that we get to go inside a police station.
It was on the 30th of July, we walked there as it is near our school. Once we reached inside, we were brought to the multi purpose court were we could leave our bags and also where the secondary twos had their .22 revolver dry practice. A PNS officer was assigned to bring us around the land division.
The first stop was the carpark, we were introduced to the different police vehicles such as the standard police patrol car. Patrol cars in Singapore are of the toyota altis model ans equipped with a police light, siren, patrol computer software used for the screening of vehicles and people, a global positioning system and lastly, a communication system. Then we have the motorbikes, one that is only used in expressways as it is heavier, faster and cannot turn easily and the other that is slower and meant for neighborhood roads.
The second stop was the OPS room, also known as the operations room. The main purpose of the room is to pick up 999 calls, talk to the person then direct the nearest patrolling officer to the caller. It is also in charge of directing the FRV, also known as the fast response vehicles. The people in it work 12 hour shifts and handle a whooping average of 400 incidents everyday!
Next is the "jail" or the place where criminals are held, which comprises of three security zones to prevent anyone from escaping. Firstly, we have the remmant room where those people charged by court stay. They can be held there from a period of seven days to two weeks. Cells are different for females and males as the male cell has a security camera which overlooks everything, including the toilet area whilst the female cell has a little bit more privacy in that area. Then we have the lock up, where those freshly arrested or pending investigation are held for a maximum of 48 hours. They can be bailed or released unconditionally depending on each individual's situation. Then, the holding area, for those pending process for example, their property. there is also the padded cells, which are for people of unsound mind.
There is also the identification room where suspects line up and there will be another room opposite where the identifier can see the suspects in the other room through the one way mirror.
Lastly, we were brought to a room where we had a introduction to the patrol stuff, mainly the weapons and also other things but we are not allowed to say which.
We had a great time there especially in the I.D parade room where everyone took turns at each room and we saw real criminals being interrogated and others. It was really educational and tells us a lot of the police organisation structure and others. We learnt a lot about how the police work and also to appreciate the effectiveness of these systems in fighting and preventing crime in Singapore today. Now, who wants to be a police officer?
- SGT (NPCC) Teo Wan Ling
