Maintaining a safe and secure educational environment that is conducive to learning and research for the campus community remains the University’s top priority. Mr Keith It who took on the role of Campus Security Director since April, and Mr Seah Thian Pau, the immediate past director, are immensely proud to showcase the new Command Centre which was officially opened on 16 August by NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye.
Boasting state-of-the-art features that may not seem out of place in a Jason Bourne thriller, the Centre will enable OCS to perform their functions more efficiently and effectively to provide better service for the community. It will also serve as a platform to test out various new technological tools.
Mr Seah said, “It’s been two years in the making since I’ve overseen this project. It is a purpose-built and future-proof building to further enable technological reliability, speed of response and modular scalability, underpinning long-term capabilities for the team.”
NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye and Senior Vice President (Campus Infrastructure) Professor Yong Kwet Yew unveiling the new OCS Command Centre plaque
The duo certainly adds credibility to the claim. Mr It has extensive experience from his years with the Singapore Police Force, Criminal Investigation Department and the Customs Operations Command. Mr Seah, a former police officer with more than 35 years of experience, currently serves as Director of Special Duties with University Campus Infrastructure.
While closed circuit television (CCTV) continues to keep a silent and constant watch on what is happening around the campus, artificial intelligence and deep-learning technologies are being adopted to increase real-time capabilities by automatically providing early warning alert of any possible security threat.
Augmenting these technologies, facial recognition will be deployed at high-risk zones to promote security and facilitate investigations into crime, accidents and property damage. Drone surveillance is yet another new feature introduced. Currently used for aerial surveillance at large scale events, OCS is trying a technology that will enable the drones to fly safely out of sight while patrolling, reducing the need for physical presence of security officers and thus allowing for better utilisation of manpower.
Autonomous patrol robots are also being deployed on a trial basis at University Town and Bukit Timah Campus. Operating on surveillance or two-way communications modes, they serve to project a presence of order.
Security is fundamentally a joint responsibility between the general public and security forces and the NUS community continues to play a vital role. “New technological advances are tools that can enhance security and protect the community from viable threats,” said Mr It. “Having sophisticated algorithms, drones and robots can only do so much without the human element taking centrestage. More importantly, if everyone plays a part and help to look out for one another, it will keep our campus safe and secure.”