I stumbled upon this article about the Former Combined Operations Room Exhibition a few weeks ago.
This former British-built bomb-proof building house the central communication center to coordinate police operations statewide.
Located on Pearl's Hills Terrace, the exhibition is open to public for the very first time after they reconstructed the combined operations room. The exhibition is held in conjunction with SG50 celebration and is due to be held for only 3 months.
At the waiting area, you'll be shown the radio patrol car used in the past. The Beetles was used sometime in the 1970s all the way to 1982. The timeline also shows how the patrol car has transformed over the decades.
Visitors need to contact the exhibition center to book a tour as walk-ins are not permitted. Tours run every half hourly and takes about 10 people each time.
At present, as not many people know about the function of this secret bunker of the past, the former police women who used to serve at Pearl's Hill are called back to duty as a guide. Here is Kak Nur explaining the function of the of the operations headquarters to the visitors.
There are also pictures from riots and mob attacks in the past.
Here's Kak Nur explaining to us that every single conversation needs to be jotted down verbatim. If the caller speaks in dialects or other mother tongue, the call will be passed to the officers who can converse in the specific mother tongue.
This was how the entire operations work in the past as Kak Nur recounted her experience to us.
We were then brought to the command center. This room was manned by the Chief Police Staff Officer overlooking the operations on the ground and the incident board in front.
Here's a photo of the switchboard manned by the operators. This switchboard was used from 1965 - 1988 before a more advanced radio operation system is adopted. You'll also be treated to a video presentation of how technology advancement has allowed the radio operations to be more systematic and increased the capability in real-time management. The latest Police Operations Command Centre will also be featured in the video.
We were also informed about a recording room where all the calls were taped and stored in the room for the purpose of replay, in the case of dispute or complaints.
If you've interest in the history of the Police Command Centre and just have a short trip back to the past, do head over to Pearl's Hill Terrace for the exhibition.
The tour operation runs on :
Tuesday - Sunday : 10am to 5pm
Please book your interest by calling 9893 5140 or email fcor@mha.gov.sg.
We were told that the response was overwhelming and at the point of my visit, there were more than 350 emails indicating interest that have not been attended to as there is not enough time slot to fit everyone in.
