There exists many aspects of public safety, out of which, patrol vehicles are important to ensure public security on the ground to protect cities and safeguard lives. These vehicles are not only used to conduct daily operational patrols, but also equipped with an arsenal of high-tech systems to provide law enforcement officers with actionable insights, leading to swift decision-making. Hear from John Yen, on our very own fast response car and how it contributes to the public security ecosystem.
Q: What is a Next-Generation Fast Response Car and its capabilities?
The Next-Generation Fast Response Car (NGFRC) is a patrol vehicle operated by law enforcement officers and is equipped with smart technologies for better incident management. Every NGFRC is embedded with a suite of advanced surveillance systems. It provides ground officers with real-time insights based on sense-making capabilities. The NGFRC equips officers with:
1. Unified visualisation
The central management controller console at the dashboard of the vehicle serves as a smart control of all functions inside the car.
2. Full situational awareness
The NGFRC is assembled with video cameras all around the vehicle, unlocking a 360 degree field of view, providing ground officers with video feeds that enables full view of what is happening around them and for recording of incidents occurring around the vehicle. In addition, the automatic number plate recognition system narrows in on vehicles of interest, allowing for automatic and quick detection of Vehicles of Interest (VOI).
3. Integrated communication system
To facilitate agile responses, this system allows for lines of communications between operations centre and officers for close collaboration. This system enables coordination among ground forces for incident management as it provides situational updates, and officers will be able to request for backup or reinforcement when required.
Q: How can NGFRCs enhance public safety?
NGFRCs play a critical role in the daily operations of our law enforcers. The technologies, which are integrated into the vehicle, will further improve the operational effectiveness and safety of ground officers. With functional designs and advanced technology, NGFRCs are developed to ensure public safety and security.
Highlighting a few interesting technologies:
• In-Vehicle Video Recording System (IVVRS) – allows for live streaming of footage to the Operations Command Centre for better sense-making and incident management. The Command Centre will be able to have visualisation when ground officers report the situation.
• The Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) - allows for seamless detection of Vehicles of Interest (VOI) e.g. stolen vehicle, whether they are moving on the road or in a stationary position. Officers no longer have to manually check their records or recall Vehicle Registration Numbers (VRN) from their memory.
• RFID-enabled boot system - allows officers to automatically scan and detect the available police equipment at the boot of the car. Officers do not need to go through the hassle of manually opening the boot to check for the individual items.
• Human-centric design e.g. ergonomics – the vehicle has a unique Person-in-Custody (PIC) Compartment which provides a safe and more secure method of transportation for both the PIC and the police officer.
Q: Do you foresee the technologies which are embedded within the car to be applied to other areas?
The interconnected technologies which are embedded within the car forms the Advanced Vehicle Surveillance Suite (AVSS) which is platform agnostic. It means that AVSS can be applied to other vehicle types e.g. riot control vehicle or mobile command vehicle. Similarly, it can be used at the event security post e.g. command centre at event site.
Q: Could you share a success story of NGFRC?
We are heartened to be able to work with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) to roll out the NGFRCs, ensuring public safety on the ground.
To cater to the needs of the SPF to reinforce public safety on the roads, it is critical to equip officers with the tech to derive actionable insights to respond to emergencies quickly. With these technologies integrated, public safety and security will take on a stronger frontier with innovation boundaries being pushed.
The diagram below mentions some of the key technologies which will be implemented.
Credits to: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/high-tech-police-car-to-hit-the-road-by-2024
Q: How would you envision future enhancements to the Fast Response Cars to be like?
We envision future Fast Response Cars to be equipped with tech applications that can help transform law enforcement officers’ work on the ground to enable them to fight crime in more efficient and effective ways than before.
Therefore, innovation does not stop here. It is imperative to continue to integrate high-tech features to augment operational effectiveness for enhanced incident management. We take pride that the current fleet of Fast Response Cars are built with forward-thinking capabilities to ensure public safety in the cities.
Moving forward, a possible enhancement to Fast Response Cars is to add on video analytics features such as facial recognition system to identify suspects, also known as Person-of-interest (POI), during their daily patrols. Back in the operations centre, these data feeds can then be referenced to the database to help to extract more details for further sense-making by ground officers.
Another use of video analytics would be to facilitate crowd control. With the assistance of analytics, officers will be able to decide on the amount of resources required to manage crowds. These technology enhancements will help to reinforce law enforcement work and empower officers to safeguard and defend lives.
Find out more about NGFRCs here:
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