Police Call-outs to Attend to Public Nuisance and Average Time Taken to Resolve Such Disturbances
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the frequency of police call-outs for recurring public nuisance and the effectiveness of current response patterns, as raised by Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat. Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam explained that the Police do not track this data, focusing instead on law-and-order concerns rather than general disamenities. Complainants in non-arrestable cases are referred to relevant agencies or advised to pursue mediation and Magistrate’s Complaints for private nuisance issues. Unresolved interference may lead to claims with the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals, which can issue Special Directions that the Police enforce if criminal non-compliance occurs. Where recurring calls exist, the Police work with stakeholders to address underlying causes while maintaining a lean force dedicated to core security functions.
Transcript
15 Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many locations received three or more police callouts for recurring public nuisance in the past year; (b) what is the average number of callouts to such locations before the nuisance is resolved; and (c) whether the current approach of responding to individual callouts is effective for locations with established patterns of recurring disturbances.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Police do not track the requested data.
The Singapore Police Force is a lean force. We have explained before, including in this House, that Police focus on law-and-order concerns. There are many activities that may cause some form of nuisance or disamenities, but which do not pose law and order concerns. Such cases will be referred to the relevant agency for follow-up.
Depending on the nature of the disamenity, there may be an offence disclosed. When a non-arrestable offence takes place, the complainant may be asked to file a Magistrate's Complaint or consider mediation at the Community Mediation Centre in cases of private nuisance. If mediation fails, and the case involves unreasonable interference with a neighbour's enjoyment or use of his or her residence, the neighbour may consider filing a claim with the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT). If the claim is made out, the CDRT can issue an order requiring the respondent to take steps to stop the unreasonable interference. The CDRT may also require the respondent to pay damages. Failure to comply with a CDRT order may result in the issuance of a Special Direction (SD) and non-compliance with an SD is a criminal offence that the Police will enforce.
Where there are recurring calls, the Police will work with stakeholders to assess and address the underlying causes.