NEA volunteers should patrol with volunteer constabulary, say observers

Hu Jielan Channel NewsAsia 2 Nov 13;

SINGAPORE: The government recently said it plans to look into how to catch litterbugs more effectively with the help of volunteers from the community. One possible idea is having them patrol with the Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC).

At the moment, volunteers with the National Environment Agency (NEA) have the power to book litterbugs and report them to authorities.

Some members of the public told Channel NewsAsia that it was good to have them around to help keep the environment clean.

One of the ideas to strengthen the volunteers' role is to issue them the same warrant cards as regular NEA officers, which would give them the power to issue summonses to litterbugs.

However, there are many challenges as a volunteer. Randy Wong, a volunteer with the NEA, said: "I think the most challenging part is handling everyone's different mentalities. For example, there may be cat lovers who do not clean up the area. But if you understand their point of view, it'll be much easier to persuade them."

- CNA/ac