Rise of the CITIZEN PATROL - The Sunday Times, HOME, 13 December 2009
Today at 12:42
More people stepping forward to help keep their neighbourhoods safe
Terrence Voon
Criminals on the prowl, beware.
More public-spirited people are pounding the pavements on organised groups to keep a look-out for loan sharks, burglars and even cat-killers.
Equipped with bicycles, torchlights and some police training, these "eyes and ears" of the men in blue are helping to boost neighbourhood safety.
Just last week, it was announced that Serangoon Gardens would be getting its own citizens' patrol this week.
The patrol - comprising both residents and foreign workers living in the estate's newly opened dormitory - is aiming at boosting security levels in the area.
The police say citizen patrolling is gaining in popularity. It is mostly conducted under the banner of Citizens on Patrol (COP), a programme that is part of the long-running Neighbourhood Watch Zone (NWZ) scheme.
When the latter was launched in 1997, there were only 65 volunteers in 26 residential zones. Now there are more than 5000 volunteers in 628 zones.
Their efforts, which include late-night patrols and door-to-door visits, have paid off. Police statistics show that four in 10 arrests involving major offenses such as outrage of modesty, robbery and housebreaking are public-assisted.
Said a police spokesman: "The police cannot be everywhere at any one time and the community plays an important role in helping us fight crime and terrorism."
There are many success stories.
In January, a COP group from Nee Soon South spotted a loan shark runner making his getaway after splashing paint on a home.
The suspect was arrested a few days later, after volunteers noted the registration number of his motorcycle.
Their vigilance also led to the arrest of two other members of a loan shark gang the following month.
Such civic-minded volunteers come from all walks of life.
There are the ordinary citizens moved to action in the face of persistent crime in their neighbourhoods. Many are active grassroots members who see the patrols as a good way to reach out to residents in their wards.
Yet others say they are just doing their part to protect their loved ones.
"We're trying to achieve neighbourhood safety," said Punggol Gardens Residents' Committee (RC) member Ravan Nannapaneni, 32.
"But at the end of the day, I feel safer, and my family feels safer," said the product engineer.
Recruiting newcomers has not been a problem.
Clinic assistant Christina Kwek, 45, chairman of the Toa Payoh East Zone 1 RC, said: "Even children have come up to us and said they want to join.
"But we had to say no, because it can be a bit dangerous."
When giving training to the citizen patrollers, the police emphasise that they are not to take the law into their own hands.
When witnessing a crime, for example, they should alert the police and not confront the suspects on their own.
But some situations may require quick action.
Mr Teh Beng Chye, 46, a Toa Payoh grassroots member, recounted how he single-handedly apprehended a suspect who had robbed an elderly man earlier this year.
But Mr Teh, who is self-employed, do so only after he had made sure the culprit was not carrying a weapon.
"During our NWZ meeetings, the police trained us how to react," he said. "I saw that the robber did not have a weapon, so I gave chase and caught him at the next block."
Apart from the COP programme, some people have organised impromptu patrols - often to deter a specific crime or for a cause.
Animal activists, for instance, have often stepped forward to trace animal abusers.
Ms Veron Lau, 38, a Cat Welfare Society committee member, volunteered for two patrols this year to help catch cat abusers in Choa Chu Kang and Toa Payoh.
"The suspects, who are often residents of those neighbourhoods, become less likely to continue their actions knowing that people are on the alert," she explained.
But not everyone, it seems, is thankful that there are such patrols, and voluntary crime-busters have come across some unappreciative residents.
Ms Jacqueline Song, a chairman of Punggol Gardens RC, said she was once verbally abused by the parents of some teenagers caught setting fire to a public roof-top garden.
"It's a thankless job sometimes," said the business development manager.
"But we pride ourselves on our personal touch. Some residents may not be comfortable talking to the police. We are familiar faces."
