Dec 3, 2009
Community-police partnership crucial in fight against loan sharks
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I REFER to the letter by Madam Josephine Tay, 'Neighbour told to act as loan-shark runner' (Nov 12).
Police take a serious view of all loan-sharking and related harassment incidents. This is reflected in the high number of arrests in the first half of this year where police made 417 arrests of people for loan-sharking and related harassment, compared with 207 in the same period last year.
Police have followed up on the report lodged by Madam Tay on Nov 10 and will continue to work closely with the affected units in the area.
In affected areas, including the area where Madam Tay lives, a neighbourhood watch group has been formed with members from the neighbourhood watch zone and other volunteers. Through this, residents help to keep a lookout for suspicious characters or activities in their area and immediately alert police to such sightings.
Islandwide, the efforts of the various neighbourhood watch groups were instrumental in the arrests of several loan-shark runners and also foiled attempts at harassment by loan-shark runners. Police also conduct frequent patrols in affected areas and work with the town councils to deploy closed- circuit television cameras at hot spots.
The active involvement and close partnership between the community and the police is pivotal to successfully combating loan-sharking and harassment in the community.
The public can do their part by forming neighbourhood watch groups within their areas to keep a lookout for suspicious characters or activities in their neighbourhood. They should call the police immediately by dialling 999 if any suspicious characters or activities are spotted and can also call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 to provide information.
DSP Paul Tay
Assistant Director, Media Relations
Public Affairs Department
Singapore Police Force
Community-police partnership crucial in fight against loan sharks
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<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
I REFER to the letter by Madam Josephine Tay, 'Neighbour told to act as loan-shark runner' (Nov 12).
Police take a serious view of all loan-sharking and related harassment incidents. This is reflected in the high number of arrests in the first half of this year where police made 417 arrests of people for loan-sharking and related harassment, compared with 207 in the same period last year.
Police have followed up on the report lodged by Madam Tay on Nov 10 and will continue to work closely with the affected units in the area.
In affected areas, including the area where Madam Tay lives, a neighbourhood watch group has been formed with members from the neighbourhood watch zone and other volunteers. Through this, residents help to keep a lookout for suspicious characters or activities in their area and immediately alert police to such sightings.
Islandwide, the efforts of the various neighbourhood watch groups were instrumental in the arrests of several loan-shark runners and also foiled attempts at harassment by loan-shark runners. Police also conduct frequent patrols in affected areas and work with the town councils to deploy closed- circuit television cameras at hot spots.
The active involvement and close partnership between the community and the police is pivotal to successfully combating loan-sharking and harassment in the community.
The public can do their part by forming neighbourhood watch groups within their areas to keep a lookout for suspicious characters or activities in their neighbourhood. They should call the police immediately by dialling 999 if any suspicious characters or activities are spotted and can also call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 to provide information.
DSP Paul Tay
Assistant Director, Media Relations
Public Affairs Department
Singapore Police Force
