Residents in the north will now enjoy more comfort and privacy as well as shorter waiting times when they visit the new police centre. (Photo: Singapore Police Force)
Those living in the northern part of Singapore will now enjoy more comfort and privacy as well as shorter waiting times when they visit the new Woodlands Police Division headquarters, reported the Straits Times.
“Members of the public will no longer have to travel to the division headquarters in Jurong or Ang Mo Kio to meet the investigation officers for updates in their cases,” said Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam at the opening of the headquarters on Tuesday (12 Mar).
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He revealed that the 10-storey facility at Woodlands Street 12 features a new system that screens all police databases, instead of screening one database at a time.
“Screening can take five minutes now, compared with 20 minutes in the past,” he said.
Visitors will also be filtered to different channels depending on the purpose of their visit – significantly reducing the time they spend there.
Self-help kiosks as well as an automated drop box for lost and found items can also be seen at the new facility. The drop box allows users to register and hand over items found even without meeting a police officer to make a report.
Front-line counters at the Woodlands West NPC have also been redesigned such that people can talk to officers in private glass rooms instead of an open counter.
The new design is targeted at providing more privacy to those lodging police reports, said Shanmugam.
He added that the new features at the headquarters will also be introduced at other police outposts and Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPC).
The seventh land division in Singapore, Woodlands Police Division commenced operations on 25 November 2018.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police (DAC) Leon Chan was officially appointed as the division’s commander in a ceremony at the facility on Tuesday (12 March).
The new division took over two NPCs from Jurong Police Division and three from Ang Mo Kio Police Division as well as the policing functions of the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints.
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Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
