Camera catches high-rise litterbugs

NEA pilot project shows it is effective but it will be used only in hot spots
By Cheryl Ong, The Straits Times, 7 Mar 2012

INSTALLING surveillance cameras atop public housing blocks is not the cheapest way to catch high-rise litterbugs, so they will be used only where the problem is acute.

The National Environment Agency (NEA), in response to queries from The Straits Times, said it cost $25,000 to deploy a camera for stretches of at least five days in 10 locations under a pilot project it undertook last year.

Until the pilot project, enforcement had entailed labour-intensive stakeouts lasting several hours.

The NEA said the pilot project showed that mounting stakeouts with the cameras was 'more effective than current methods', but added: 'The cameras will be used only after careful assessment of the situation and after all other means, such as educational efforts to exert community pressure on the litterbugs, have been exhausted.'

Of the 10 locations the camera was deployed in turn, it caught litterbugs in two locations within the few days it was left turned on round the clock.

The 10 hot spots where it was installed included neighbourhoods in Bukit Batok, Jurong West, Chua Chu Kang, Woodlands, Marsiling and Bukit Panjang.

Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu had told Parliament on Tuesday that such surveillance cameras and video-analytic software will be deployed in the second half of this year to catch litterbugs, who can cause death or injury to people on whom these 'missiles' land from on high.

It is the Government's response to a problem that has continued to be the bugbear of the authorities, despite more than a decade of public education drives.

Each month, the NEA gets reports of about 100 cases of high-rise littering, but has managed to prosecute just 41 litterbugs in 10 years - about four a year.

The problem lies in that objects can be hurled from a window or a balcony in a flash. Someone who sees it happen may not have a smartphone handy to get the evidence, so litterbugs have just carried on their business with impunity.

Among the Members of Parliament who spoke up during the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources' budget for the coming year was Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Ang Mo Kio GRC), who said: 'They do it because they think they won't get caught. It's a 'bo chap' attitude.'

Bo chap in Hokkien means indifferent.

'The figure of four cases caught each year only goes to prove their point. We have to ramp up enforcement and stop them from thinking they can get away with this sort of behaviour,' said Mr Yeo.

Ms Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC) suggested that the authorities encourage residents to file anonymous reports.

'This way, they can be the eyes of the neighbourhood without creating tension among neighbours. This may work, as many people have smartphones - and Singaporeans like to Stomp,' she said, referring to this newspaper's citizen-journalism website.

A first-time littering offender can be dealt a Corrective Work Order (CWO) requiring him or her to carry out public cleaning works for up to 12-hour stretches; a repeat offender can be meted a CWO and a fine of up to $5,000.

The NEA said it plans to publicise cases of those prosecuted to create a deterrent effect.

Boon Lay resident Tan Choon Cheong, 60, is looking forward to having cameras installed because he has one such litterbug in his block.

The odd-job worker said: 'It's inconvenient for us because we can't hang our clothes out without worrying that he'll throw some rubbish out of his window onto our things. I hope they can use cameras to catch him in the act. Then at least we'll have evidence.'