The service, introduced by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and National Council of Social Service, is aimed at enhancing the safety and security of the hearing and speech-impaired community, which is estimated to number about 10,000. It is similar to SPF's existing emergency hotline (999), but has been put in place for persons with hearing and speech impairment.
"These persons may experience difficulties in contacting emergency services using a mobile phone because they cannot hear the spoken words very well. Currently, it is not possible to send text messages to '999'. Therefore, Police have created a special number 70999 for emergency text messages," said SPF.
Speaking at the launch of the service during the Police Workplan Seminar in May, Mr Wong Kan Seng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, said SMS 70999 was a good example of how the Police have been responsive to the needs of the community, as part of its customer-focused approach. "This joint initiative shows that the Police are constantly innovating to better meet the needs of the community that it serves," he said.
Mr Wong (second from right): This joint initiative shows that the Police are constantly innovating to better meet the needs of the community that it serves. |
The project, which is also supported by the Ministry of Finance and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), provides members of the hearing and/or speech-impaired community with another avenue to communicate with each other and with the Police during an emergency. It is aligned with the strategic vision of
the government's iGov2010 masterplan
to increase the reach and richness of government e-services via the
mobile channel.
Five Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) - Canossian School, Disability Information & Referral Centre, Singapore Association for the Deaf, Singapore School for the Visually Handicapped and TOUCH Silent Club - are partners of this initiative.
Members of the public who are hearing and/or speech-impaired and are not currently registered with these VWOs, may register with the Disability Information & Referral Centre or Singapore Association for the Deaf.
Once an SMS is received from a registered user, Police operators will send an SMS to the user to confirm, if practicable, the nature of the incident or request for help, before dispatching officers to the scene. If the incident requires fire or ambulance-related services, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will also be alerted. Registered members will also be able to use an unregistered mobile number for this service by including their NRIC number in their message. This service is provided by SPF at no cost to the users. However, normal SMS rates will apply for the text messages.
Infocomm highlights at the Police Workplan Seminar
Besides the SMS 70999 service, other infocomm projects that were highlighted at the Police Workplan Seminar included the following:
HAZMASTER G3
The HAZMASTER G3 is a powerful handheld computer with a database of more than 100,000 chemical, biological, radiological agents, explosives and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). It serves as a threat identification tool that supports quick decision-making by officers attending to post-blast scenes. It also has a rugged design which allows the user to work in harsh outdoor environments, places where a consumer-grade unit could not function.
Some of HAZMASTER G3's capabilities include:
- Instantly identifying an extremely broad range of dual-use precursors and their typical industrial uses/processes;
- Modelling explosive reactions for home made explosives (HME) agents, along with protective actions and extensive response procedures for traditional explosives and chemicals; and
- Comprehensive guidance on signs and symptoms of victims for a broad range of bio-warfare and bio-terror agents
Maritime Panic Alarm Device
The Maritime Panic Alarm Device (MPAD) is a portable safety device that consists of a transceiver and a user-wearable transponder that is suitable for both water borne operations and training purposes. Once activated in distress or man-over-board situations, the transponder worn by the officer in distress will send a signal to the transceiver which will sound an alarm to alert other officers and also send a distress message with GPS coordinates to pre-programmed remote recipients. This is achieved through the use of technologies like Radio Frequency Transmission, Global System for Mobile Communication and Global Positioning System.
This project is aimed at ensuring the training and operational safety of Police Coast Guard (PCG) officers when out at sea, and was conceptualised and designed by PCG officers in July 2007. A prototype was developed four months later. PCG will be further developing the device for operational usage.
Mobile Automated Vehicle Screening System (MAVSS)
The Mobile Automated Vehicle Screening System (MAVSS) uses Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to screen licence plates on the go. SPF is putting the MAVSS under a technical trial to evaluate the feasibility of implementation in Singapore's context. The trial is currently ongoing.
If adopted, the use of the MAVSS will relieve SPF officers of the manual task of performing the screening process. More vehicles can also be screened in a shorter time. This increases the probability of detecting stolen or wanted vehicles. Hence, it will serve as deterrence against motor vehicle theft.
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