The network of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras will expand significantly over the next four years, to ramp up surveillance and deter those plotting terror attacks in Singapore.

The Government will also, where necessary, pass laws to require building owners and organisers of major events to step up security, said Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam yesterday.

In a speech to senior Home Team officials, Mr Shanmugam laid out plans to protect key infrastructure such as government buildings, as well as soft targets like shopping malls and sports facilities.

All 10,000 Housing Board blocks and multi-storey carparks will have police cameras installed by the end of this year, he said.

Electronic eyes will be put up at common heartland areas next, especially in crowded places such as town centres and hawker centres .

… Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna, head of policy studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, acknowledged privacy concerns over expanding CCTV camera coverage, but said: “You can’t trade security for anything else.”