Josephine Teo, the Second Minister for Home Affairs, during her speech at the Interpol World 2019 revealed that International crime fighters need major reinforcements in their arsenal to tackle the advanced security landscapes. During the speech, Teo revealed that International policing will be better only if innovation happens in three crucial areas; biometrics, data analytics, and digital forensics.
Teo also added that polarisation of societies is one of the most serious issues that should be addressed internationally. As per Teo, due to the advancements in technology, spreading extreme ideas and propaganda to a wider audience has become so easy, and criminals are making use of this potential to the fullest.
Due to this extreme-idea propagation, common men are becoming self-radicalized, and it is creating huge issues in society.
"The result is self-radicalization, a previously unheard of phenomenon. In this new landscape, otherwise ordinary citizens can become explosive nodes of destruction without anyone noticing," said Teo, Channel News Asia reports.
Teo revealed that wise usage of biometrics is capable of combating crimes to a considerable extent. In the speech, she talked about the biometric powered contactless immigration clearance system which is being currently used in various airports including the Changi airport. She added that biometrics with facial recognition technology has the capability to scan through video footages which will help to spot criminals.
Teo, who is also the Manpower minister revealed that data analytics and digital forensics are other areas that will play a crucial role in cutting down the crime rates in the future. However, she made it clear that the enormous data obtained through global digitalization will be useless if they are not handled with insight.
Teo revealed that the Singapore government has decided to reinforce science and technology capabilities, and in order to achieve this, authorities have decided to set up a new Home Team Science and Technology Agency.
