Pearl's Hill Historic Sites Marking Ceremony cum Police Heritage Centre (PHC) 10th Anniversary Celebration
Punggol Neighbourhood Watch Day
C.L.I.F 2 Drama + FREE GIVEAWAY
Let's start with Pearl's Hill Historic Sites Marking Ceremony + Police Heritage Centre (PHC) 10th Anniversary Celebration.
On 3rd Dec 2012, a ceremony was held to commemorate the marking of the Pearl's Hill Lower & Upper Barracks as historic sites. The Lower and Upper Barracks were jointly assessed by MHA & the National Heritage Board to be of strong historical significance to be marked as historic sites.
A historic site is different form a 'national monument', preserved and/or conserved' building.
Do you know the difference?
I didn't know until I read up about it and here's perhaps the simplest explanation sourced. Quoted from www.ask.com: "A national park refers to an attractive area of countryside protected by the federal government for the pleasure of the general public or the preservation of nature. A national monument on the other hand is a geographical area preserved by the national government and maintained for public use. Finally, a national historic Site is a protected area that has historic significance." The purpose of marking the buildings is a move to ensure that the rich history of these sites is not lost given the possibility of building redevelopment, modification & eventual demolition. This allows SPF to directly and quickly create awareness of the significance and history of these sites to prevent possible damage that may be irrevocable.
Background of Pearl's Hill Lower & Upper Barracks
I don't think we ever learn this in school, did we?
Let's walk down this memory lane together~
The upper and lower Barracks were opened in 1934 by Sir Shenton Thomas, Governor of Singapore to house the Sikh Contingent of the Straits Settlement Police. The married members of the Sikh Contingent stayed at the Upper Barracks while the unmarried members of the Sikh Contingent stayed at the Lower Barracks. Sikh Contingent was introduced by the British in 1881 to combat rising crime in Singapore.
Following dissolution of the Straits Settlement in 1946, the Sikh Contingent disbanded and vacated to carious uses over the years. They were subsequently occupied by various Police Units such as the Radio Division which moved to the premises in 1948.
Combined Operations Room In Radio Division:
Photo courtesy of SPF
Hey, this Radio Division Room looks familiar...
I've been to this room at the Singapore Police Heritage Centre before!
I remembered picking up the phone up and listening to the calls made from people who needed help in those times, re-living the life in Singapore then.
There, see!
Radio Cars at Police Division
Photo courtesy of SPF
If you haven't visit the Singapore Police Heritage Centre(PHC) before, yes it's opened to the Public in Police Headquarters in New Phoenix Park. For the past 10 years, PHC receives an average of 8,500 visitors per year, including students, teachers, officers, foreign delegates & members of the public.
The PHC encapsulates SPF's developments since the 1880s, holding a multifarious showcase detailing the history of the Force. The PHC has 3 Galleries:
The Commemorative Gallery gives tribute to the men & women in blue who had given their life in the line of duty and officers who have displayed acts of gallantry.
The Command Gallery honours past Commissioners of the Force who had upheld and enhanced the Police's role as the Force in the Nation.
The Main Gallery exhibits major chapters in the development of SPF.
Read my previous post here for photos I took at PHC and make your appointment with SPF to visit today.
Visits by APPOINTMENTS ONLY. Punggol Neighbourhood Watch Day
I had expected it to be like the other SPF events I've been to, an event held in an air-conditioned room full of police officers. Turned out almost all the residents from the Punggol Neighbourhood were there!
Punggol Neighbourhood Watch Day is like a family day where everyone spent an afternoon at the venue with games to play, snacks to eat, exhibits on display, instant photo booth, programmes to watch & even a special appearance by C.L.I.F. 2 main artistes.
Also, congratulations to the Launch of Punggol NPC!
I was extremely impressed with the series of activities going on but aww man... I didn't come prepared for it as I've absolutely no idea that it was going to be a carnival. First thing first, my dressing was already wrong so I couldn't climb to the top of the amphitheatre to take photos of the entire carnival. Then, it was inconvenient for me to play the games which require throwing as I'm in a tube-dress. I should be wearing a plain top and pants/berms.
Guys, I wasn't fed with any information regarding this carnival so you have to forgive me for just feeding you with photos. I really wished I know everything to share with you.
But here goes nothing, a photo blog for you~
The weather was WERY HOT that day but it was the kind of weather best suited for carnivals!
Auntie, do you know that you were my thirst-quenching saviour!
The SPF band was staging a performance when I arrived.
Photo credits to: Colin, TheMinuteMan
Residents of Punggol pledged themselves on this board to join the Punggol COP:
I saw the name "Steven Lim" on it and thought of our infamous Steven Lim.
I reckoned it's another Steven Lim.
I received C.L.I.F. 2 Photo-taking Passes, thanks to SPF for the arrangement and because I had to be at the registration area, I missed the official Launch Ceremony as well as the March Pass!
The residents had to answer a simple question in order to win the same passes I got.
Colin and I manage to take photos with the SPF vehicles but I wished I could share with you more insights regarding these vehicles: how fast they can go, what special gadgets are installed in these vehicles, how many people/criminals each vehicle can take up to, where they sit etc.
After 10 minutes of tracking & checking, we finally know that we have to answer a question posted in the exhibit in order to get a goodie bag. =.=
There's popcorn and kachang but I can see cannot eat because I have no food exhange coupon. Colin didn't manage to play any games too because the queue was too long. (T____T)
Then I heard screams at the stage.
The C.L.I.F 2 artistes arrived and everyone literally FLOCKED at them.
YES FLOCKED >>>>
For a good 5 minutes, there was a lot of pushing, squeezing among everyone.
And the crowd just gets bigger.
And bigger.
The SPF Police officers proved their efficiency that day and I was impressed. Crowd Control Index: 9.5/10
By the 6th minute, the officers managed to keep the crowd in control and the artistes are invited for an short interview on stage.
CLIF @ Punggol Watch Day
Here's a full footage of their interview I found on Youtube:
Then it was the photo-taking session.
ARGH I AM SO EXCITED!
Again, crowd control damn zai: 10 out of 10.
In the end we took a group photo with Aileen Tan, Shawn & Joanne Peh.
Li Nan Xing & Ruien is in ANOTHER GROUP!!!
OMG I can't take photo with Ruien... (T ____ T )
Sorry guys~~~
We asked if we could take photo with the 2nd group but the organizers said only 1 group.
Channel 8 C.L.I.F 2 Drama debuts tonight, 18th Feb 2013 at 9pm.
Ruien, you are SO CHIO so chio.
My Bff, SILVER ANG will also be acting in the drama!
YAYYY!
MUST watch okie!
==== MINT BLOG GIVEAWAY====
If you've been reading to this point, good for you because... I'm giving away some C.L.I.F. 2 related goodies sponsored by the SPF!
Have you ever been to your nearest neighbourhood police post?
Do you even know where it is, how it looks like?
I've been there a few times myself:
to have the address of my i/c changed(that's twice),
to report the lost of my donation card when I was in Primary School.
Reported this harassment case back in secondary school where I was constantly harassed by several 'Ah Lians' who would make random phonecalls to me, challenging me to fights, threatened to chop off my legs should they see me in certain shopping centres. My contact number was given to them by school bullies. (Now that reminds me, I had wanted to share the story of bullies in my school! I MUST write about mine to support Yingzi, who courageously shared her story of her encounter with school bullies here.)
to accompany mom make a police report of loan sharks coming to my doorstep & splash paint, throw flowerpots! (HATERS!)
Singapore NPPs are not opened 24/7. There will be one police officer at the front desk attending to you. If someone is already there before you do, you'll have to wait for your turn, which can sometimes take quite a while, especially when that person making the report is giving a recount of something which had happened... I remembered myself speaking to the officer about the harassment for at least 5minutes.
Besides NPPs, there are neighbourhood police centres(NPC) and police Headquarters too! The NPCs aim to be able to provide more services in a location with reduced time. More police officers and resources can be found at these NPCs. Each NPC officer is expected to handle front-line duties, basic investigation work and administrative duties.
After visiting the Police Heritage Centre (photos will be shared later), I got to know that there are NO part-time police officers in Singapore, only full-time or voluntary police officers. By the way, my buddy, Laren Goh, was a voluntary police officer!He was a dedicated police officer, attending courses, being on time for all his patrol duties etc.
*Proud of Buddy!*
The Judging Panel
In the Singapore Police Force(SPF), the Commissioner of Police is the top-ranking police officer of the Singapore Police force, assisted by the Deputy Commissioner of Police. It was my utmost honour and privilege to meet and speak with our Commissioner of Police, Mr Ng Joo Hee and our Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr T.Raja Kumar, at the "NPP Of The Future" Design Competition on 24th February 2012. On top of that, the Singapore Police Force gave me a golden opportunity to meet AC Zuraidah Binte Abdullah (Commander of Training Command ),Mr Tan Kian Hoon( Chairman of National Crime Prevention Council ), Mr Mark Wee (Director, Architect of Ong&Ong Pte Ltd ), Dr Dora Hoan (Vice-Chairman of Radin Mas CC ) and Mediacorp Artiste, Elvin Ng up-close and personal.
All of them were present as Judges that day.
Our guest-of-honour, The Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, Mr S Iswaran was also present!
About NPP Of The Future Design Competition
Review the community policing strategies so that they can better enhance more strategic and targeted ways to fight crime and at the same time serve residents better, the SPF began looking into how technology advancement can be used. Exploring this idea and tapping on the young minds of tertiary students, SPF organised a creative design competition, known as the NPP of the Future Design Competition, where tertiary students can come forward with concepts and designs as to how they picture their NPP of the future should look and be like.
A total of 16 teams across 10 tertiary institutions in Singapore, including students from Polytechnics, ITEs and universities participated. Out of these 16 teams, 5 teams emerged and entered the finals which was held at the Police Headquarters, New Phoenix Park, to compete for 2 winning positions.
The 2 winning teams will win themselves a trophy and S$5,000 cash respectively. Also, they will be working with the SPF to build prototypes which will be exhibited at the Police Workplan Seminar 2012. Good concepts and designs, as well as from other entries, will be incorporated in trial NPP designs.
So who won?
Read on...
I was trying to ask for directions to the auditorium from this police mascot. The police officer escorting me must have thought I'm crazy. He waited for me patiently in the sun while I spoke to the mascot though. Sorry to scare you!
I'm normal, really.
YEAH, seating in the front row at the auditorium! Awesome view.
Watch this introductory video about the competition:
During the finals, the 5 top teams from Singapore Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Management University and Nanyang Technological University, will present their design concepts to the panel of judges. The presentation was also done in front of invited audience comprising students from tertiary schools, SPF Facebook Fans, members of Elvinology Fanclub and police officers were present in the auditorium. The judges were given limited time to enquire each team after their presentation.
There were 2 pages full of judging criteria which includes the aesthetic, safety, ease of usage of facilities and amentities, cost benefits, range of services available in the future NPP etc.
The final score of the teams comprises of 20% audience votes, where each audience is allowed only one vote for their favourite design, and 80% from the score by the panel of judges.
The first team: the SP team(AXIS) giving their presentation.
Presentation from RP students.
Presentation from the NTU team.
The team from NTU was so innovative! They tickled the judges and audience by flashing up a proposed Q&A slide to 'give the judges an idea of what we can ask the team'. In addition,every judge was given a poster each as the team avidly promote their proposed NPP of the future concept! \
There is a saying for this, Win Liao Lor~!
No really, it was extremely well prepared.
What a surprise!
The judges were invited to the judging room for another round of discussion over refreshments.
The judges from left to right: Mr Tan Kian Hoon(Chairman of National CrimePrevention Council) Mr Mark Wee (Director, Architect of Ong&Ong Pte Ltd )
Mr T.Raja Kumar (Deputy Commissioner of Police)
Me
Mr Ng Joo Hee (Commissioner of Police ) Dr Dora Hoan (Vice-Chairman of Radin Mas CC ) AC Zuraidah Binte Abdullah (Commander of Training Command)
The 16 entries were on display outside the auditorium and I particularly took interest in one that this Temasek Polytechnic student had done.
His name is Zibin and he is a final year TP student who specialises in product design. This competition was his final year project. His NPP concept is a mobile room which can be placed anywhere. There is a touch screen monitor placed outside the room for general enquiries. To file a police report, you can walk into the room, lock the door and conduct live video conference with a police officer on duty.
Interesting, isn't it?
He told me that he will be working on improving his concept.
Way to go!
Success is never about winning but the process of never giving up in order to succeed.
Booths belonging to the Top 5 teams. I've managed to find their team presentation videos too! You'll be surprise by the amount of research the students have done and concepts which you might not even have thought of . Most importantly, majority of them are ORDINARY youths with no architectural background.
Sometimes, all we need is this fume of passion to hold on to this faith and really do what we want to do. With this passion, anything can be accomplished.
Guess who won!
Remember to guess 2!
Back in the auditorium, Mr S Iswaran was invited to give a speech.
This was the speech that day:
Commissioner of Police
Mr Ng Joo Hee,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Afternoon.
I am very happy to join you today at this competition for the design of the Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) of the future. NPPs have been an important part of our community landscape since the 1980s, but this is the first time we have launched a contest to design them. I am glad to see so much enthusiasm and energy among our youth who have contributed their ideas to shape this important institution in our community.
2. We embarked on this redesign of the NPP for several reasons. One factor is the developments in technology and greater acceptance of automated service machines in society. It gives us an opportunity to re-think how the Neighbourhood Police Post can better serve its customers.
3. The benefits from using technology to enhance our NPPs could be substantial. Residents could have round-the-clock access to automated services at the NPPs. Police officers could be re-deployed from desk-bound duties to patrol the streets, fight crime, interact with residents or respond to emergencies.
4. Our NPPS must also respond to key demographic trends in our communities. It is therefore essential that the NPP of the future is elderly and disabled-friendly yet have the ability to serve specific local needs.
5. For this re-design to work, we also need to know what Singaporeans seek in the NPP. Therefore, we wanted to canvas widely for design ideas. This is why Police invited you, our tertiary students, to participate in this design contest. As the next generation of users, and future Police officers, your views are important to us.
6. I want to congratulate all the teams for your impressive work. You have come up with a wide range of innovative and creative designs. For instance, the NTU team proposed an L-shaped door to prevent an assailant from tailgating a user into the safe room. An ITE College Central team had a similar concept, where a carousel door entrance would not only prevent tailgating, but could also trap the tailgating assailant. A Singapore Polytechnic team proposed a modular tent-like NPP which can be easily deployed to a wide range of locations without requiring significant infrastructure set-up.
7. Although there can only be two winners in today’s competition, the Police will study all the designs carefully, and incorporate the best features into the final design. You might therefore see something familiar when you visit the NPP in a few years’ time, and draw satisfaction from the knowledge that you were part of a team that created something used by tens of thousands of Singaporeans every year.
8. The close of this contest does not mean the end of your involvement with the NPPs. Tucked within various neighbourhood estates in Singapore, the “friendly neighbourhood police post” has helped foster a close partnership between the Police and community. All of you have taken an interest in the re-design of the hardware – the NPP of the future - to ensure that it remains relevant and continues to serve our community’s needs. I urge you to also continue to play an active role in developing the software of the NPP of the future, by partnering the Police to keep our neighbourhoods safe and secure. Together, we can make the NPP of the Future the nucleus of a safe and secure community.
It's really amazing how this 2-men team emerged as one of the winning teams despite the lack of manpower. I reckon it's not about the number of team mates you have in your team. It's about who you work with ~ your team member.
RP won the most popular concept award with the most number of online votes. Congratulations!
Congratulations to all winners and participants!
Read more articles:
HomeTeamSG here.
StraitsTimes here.
TODAYonline here.
On top of all the excitement, it was my first visit to the police heritage centre! I shall not disclose too much information, shall leave you with more surprise during your visit there like I did.
If you have a chance to feel this mascot, the mannequin here is wearing real police uniform! Both the mannequin and the uniform were then sprayed and treated to preserve. You'll be able to feel the cloth texture.
This board is filled with the names of police officers who were killed in the line of duty. Using the touch screen machine, you'll be able to find out how they died while on duty.
One of the more famous story to share is about Inspector Allan Lim Kim Sai, who died on 5th August 1965. He was shot in the head by a wanted man, Morgan Teo, when his police party was attempting an ambush. Of course, Morgan Teo was also shot and his skull is preserved in the centre.
At the Police Heritage Centre, many of the exhibits and displays belong to real police officers themselves, uniforms, police accessories, notepads, even pens.
Psst, there is a section about secret societies too.
The outside of the heritage centre, where you'll find out more about all our commissioners, their possessions, some street names which are named after these police officers, ranks, uniforms etc.
This is only ONE of the ranks-collection display. There is a display of more rank collections.
As I meticulously digest the context of each exhibit, I spotted the close-up portrait of our present Commissioner of Police, Mr Ng Joo Hee!
Walking to the next part of the Heritage centre:
Greeting us at the door to the 2nd part of the exhibit is the Singapore Police Force Historical Crest Collection, 5 different SPF historical crest from the past to the present. I get to keep one of these sets presented by Mr Ng Joo Hee earlier at the auditorium-- extremely precious crests which I will keep for the rest of my life.
In this part of the heritage exhibits, you will discover more about Singapore's first traffic police, police officers who were still wearing shorts back then, the weapons they use, more special police possessions, case studies of how past crimes were solved etc.
Do you know that a distinctive feature about the Traffic Police Officers in Singapore is that they have wings? There is a real demonstration of how these wings are used in the past to facilitate traffic. *beep-beep*
My mum was saying the other day about how Traffic Police look so suave(even Madams) as they are the ones who can openly walk in the middle if cross junctions.
Spotted me yet? ! Look again.
Saw me yet?
Good!
A video about the SPF towards the end of the heritage tour.
Print screen of contacting information of Police Heritage Centre taken from here.
My involvement in the filming process of Crimewatch:
There is one more episode featuring me as a victim, a cashier being conned by a man, which can't be found yet. That was my first Crimewatch filming.
If someone ever tells you that he/she was featured in Crimewatch as a police officer, it is a LIE. Police officers in Crimewatch are REAL police officers, our heroes who have really solved these crimes. We should give them our utmost support for taking the step to re-enact the cases all over again.
Oh yes, one more thing, do you know that the Singapore Police Force Facebook Page is one of the most interactive social media platform between a police force and its people?
