Elderly woman’s bag snatched in Clementi, thief caught in just 2 hours thanks to police cameras

Police cameras tracked man in real time as he fled the scene after he snatched the bag

In 2022, a man brazenly snatched the bag of an elderly woman in broad daylight.

Unfortunately for him, police cameras (PolCams) had recorded the incident in real-time, including footage of him fleeing the scene.

Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook

Police alerted to snatch theft on 22 Oct 2022

In a media factsheet sent to MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) detailed how PolCams helped apprehend the culprit.

SPF said it was alerted to the case of snatch theft on 22 Oct 2022 at about 8.40am.

The 76-year-old victim could only recall that the incident happened in the vicinity of Clementi Avenue 2, near a mosque and either a laundromat or Singapore Pools outlet, according to 8world News.

Responding to this, the Police Operations Command Centre (POCC) reviewed PolCam footage to determine the exact location of the crime and the man’s identity.

The Police Operations Command Centre. Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook

Police cameras record footage of man before & after he snatched bag

Using the PolCams’ sense-making capabilities, POCC managed to find the PolCams in the vicinity of the crime and pull up incriminating footage.

They first spotted the man following the elderly woman before the crime.

Courtesy of Singapore Police Force

They also had footage of the suspect fleeing the scene after snatching her bag.

Courtesy of Singapore Police Force

Making use of several PolCams in the area, POCC were able to monitor the man’s movements in real-time and coordinate with police officers on the ground to pinpoint his whereabouts.

They even discovered that he had changed clothes after committing the offence.

Courtesy of Singapore Police Force

Police cameras show man throwing snatched bag away, keeping phone

Thanks to footage from the PolCams, the suspect was arrested just two hours after the initial “999” call was placed.

While the stolen items were not on his person at the time of arrest, further footage revealed that he had fled up an HDB block.

There, he threw the bag and other items he deemed worthless.

The victim’s mobile phone, which the suspect kept with the intention of selling, was eventually recovered.

In February 2023, he was convicted of snatch theft and sentenced to five years in prison and two strokes of the cane.

Police cameras help locate missing person

In a separate case on 18 March 2023, the police were alerted that a person with special needs had gone missing.

With PolCam footage recorded in his estate, the police could figure out the clothes he was wearing and his build.

With this information, they could track him by searching PolCam footage.

Eventually, he was located after the police were alerted to a sighting with help from the PolCams’ sense-making capabilities.

He was safely reunited with his family within four hours of the filing of the missing person’s report.

Police cameras have helped solve more than 7,500 crime cases so far

Since their implementation in 2012, more than 90,000 PolCams have been installed at public housing blocks, multi-storey carparks, and public areas in neighbourhood and town centres, according to the SPF.

They can also be found in selected entertainment and commercial districts.

The PolCams have proven to be worth their while, helping to solve more than 7,500 crime cases to date.

The footage has allowed SPF to arrest suspects within hours of the crime being reported.

Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook

Police cameras caused a decrease in physical crimes

Additionally, the presence of PolCams has contributed to a significant decrease in various crimes in HDB estates.

Between 2015 and 2023, these crimes dropped by the corresponding percentages:

• unlicensed moneylending-related harassment cases involving damage to property — down by 83.6%
• housebreaking — down by 50%
• motor vehicle thefts in multi-storey carparks — down by 80.9%
• theft from motor vehicles in multi-storey carparks — down by 67.7%

PolCams are expected to become even more effective, with their sense-making technology continuously refined to enable quicker identification of leads from footage, SPF added.

Also read: 2 Men Suspected Of Involvement In Separate Snatch Theft Cases In Yishun, Arrested By Police

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Featured image courtesy of Singapore Police Force.