The authorities of the city-state note a shortage of manpower in the police, while the crime rate remains one of the lowest in the world. Some activists worry about the lack of debate and the use of the data collected.
The patrol robots will deploy on the streets of Singapore, where 5.5 million people live. Tests had already been done during covid with them. We could notably see them in the international airport of the city-Etat. The machines are about the height of a man on four wheels, move and address the public with loudspeakers, and a 360-degree camera. The images are transmitted to the police in control rooms.
Robots are capable, on their own, “to set up a police cordon, and also warn passers-by during an incident” according to the Singapore authorities. Because this announcement was made, while the authorities explain that they do not have enough police officers in Singapore, while regularly highlighting the crime rate which remains one of the lowest in the world.
“The showcase” of a state “full foot in the 21st century, even the 22nd”
Singapore already has nearly 90,000 police cameras in place on its territory, a number that should grow even further by 2030. But behind this deployment of patrol robots, there is also a problem of police manpower according to authorities. Robotization has also taken place in the armed forces, particularly in the navy, due to a lack of personnel.
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“It’s a Etat who monitors a lot, but the police, we do not see it that much in Singapore, believes Eric Frécon, associate researcher at the Institute for Research on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC). So this idea of a robot, I wonder if it’s not a bit all the same for the window, the facade, to illustrate a Edigital state, a Efully into the 21st century, even the 22nd.”
“Not enough answers on how this data is protected”
Some activists in Singapore are also cautious about the announcement, such as Singaporean journalist and social activist Kirsten Han. “For activists, the concern is this growing deployment of technology and data collection. There are not enough answers about how this data is used and protected.”
“For us, the worry is also about always having more police power, without sufficient national oversight, or debate about the limits of this power and how to balance it.
Kirsten Han, Singaporean journalist and social activistat franceinfo
AT Singapore, the Minister of Police is also Minister of Justice. The two are associated in the same ministry, and it is in particular by him that the democratization of patrol robots is decided.