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 him fleeing the scene.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
In a media factsheet sent to MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) detailed how PolCams helped capture the culprit.
The police were alerted to the case of snatch theft on 22 Oct 2022 at about 8.40am, SPF said.
The 76-year-old victim could only remember that it happened in the vicinity of Clementi Avenue 2, and there was a mosque and a laundromat or Singapore Pools outlet nearby, according to 8world News.
In response, the Police Operations Command Centre (POCC) reviewed PolCam footage to determine the exact location of the crime and the man’s identity.
Using the PolCams’ sense-making capabilities, POCC managed to find the PolCams in the vicinity of the crime and pull up incriminating footage.
Firstly, they saw the man following the elderly woman.
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 could monitor the man’s movements in real-time and coordinate with police officers on the ground to pinpoint his whereabouts.
For example, they even found out that he changed his clothes after committing the offence.
Courtesy of Singapore Police Force
Thanks to footage from the PolCams, the suspect was arrested just two hours after the “999” call was placed.
Though he didn’t have the stolen items on his person when arrested, they were recovered also with the help of PolCams, which showed that he had fled up an HDB block after snatching the bag.
There, he threw the bag and other worthless items away while keeping the victim’s mobile phone so he could sell it.
In February 2023, he was convicted of snatch theft and sentenced to five years in prison and two strokes of the cane.
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.
Since 2012, SPF has installed more than 90,000 PolCams at all public housing blocks, multi-storey carparks and public areas in neighbourhood and town centres, it said.
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 so far.
The footage has allowed SPF to arrest suspects within hours of the crime being reported.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
PolCams have also caused a significant decrease in various physical crimes in HDB estates.
Between 2015 and 2023, these crimes dropped by the corresponding percentages:
PolCams will only get more effective, as their sense-making technology is continuously being refined so leads from footage can be found more quickly, 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.
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Air conditioning compressors and signboards were also damaged from the incident.