MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

The problems of internal security, law and order, and the drug menace will continue to preoccupy this Ministry. The problems are somewhat inter-related. Drug addicts will resort to crime to get money for their drugs. Drugs can be used as a weapon of subversion to weaken the will and sap the vitality of the people.

There will be new approach and more comprehensive measures taken, and better co-ordination among the enforcement agencies to deal with the problems. Wherever possible the large pools of National Servicemen in the Special Constabulary and Vigilante Corps will be used in implementing the measures. Internal Security

The communists will continue to be the main threat to Singapore's internal security. They will not be able to create widespread violence and chaos so long as unemployment and inflation are kept in check and the Government remains efficient and uncorrupted. They will try to build up their underground networks in Singapore and provide logistics support to the terrorists in the Malaysian jungles. They may try to launch sporadic acts of sabotage and violence to shake business confidence in Singapore.

The Internal Security Department will continue to seek out and destroy communist underground organisations. It will neutralise those whom the communists use as united front leaders. As a precaution vital installations will continue to be guarded by National Servicemen in the Special Constabulary and Vigilante Corps.

Law and Order

The physical development of Singapore especially over the last ten years has resulted in major shifts in population, new roads and new centres of activity. For more efficient service and deployment, the boundaries of the existing eight Police Divisions will be redrawn and two new Divisions eventually created. By 1980 almost 75% of the population will be living in HDB estates. Besides Queenstown and Toa Payoh Estate which already have a police station each, other satellite towns, namely, the Jurong Town. Bedok New Town, Ang Mo Kio Estate, Telok Blangah Estate and Woodlands Estate, will have their own police stations. Eventually, all Special Constabulary personnel living in HDB estates who are given patrol duties will patrol in the neighbourhood of their homes under the Neighbourhood Policing Scheme.

The industrial, commercial and financial development in Singapore has changed the priorities of the Police Department in two ways. First, the opportunities to commit fraud, criminal breach of trust and other "white collar" crimes have increased. Such cases will be increasingly complex. To deal with this new situation the Commercial Crime Branch of the CID will be strengthened with more lawyers and accountants.

Second, new shopping complexes, departmental stores and high-rise office blocks and private flats mostly employ security guards. The Police Department will take this into account when working out new methods of policing. A Crime Prevention Branch has been established in the CID. Besides educating the public in crime prevention this Branch will advise developers and managements of commercial, industrial and residential buildings on built-in security measures.

Roads must be made safer for all road users. From the inception of the Points Demerit System on 1st March, 1975 till the end of 1976, 69 motorists have been suspended from driving and another 1 736 warned, The effect on road safety was however not satisfactory. The number of accidents involving serious injury dropped by some 8.8% in 1975 but increased slightly in 1976. The number of deaths caused by road accidents hardly declined.

Of the 69 motorists who were suspended from driving, 31 were bus drivers and 16 lorry drivers. This is because the driver of a larger vehicle knows that in any collision with a smaller vehicle, it is unlikely that he will be hurt seriously. He expects all smaller cars to give way to him. This might-is-right mentality must be reversed. With economic progress there will be more heavy vehicles of all types on the road. Owners of private cars will continue to change over to smaller cars. The law will be changed to provide for two things. First, in any collision between two vehicles of different size and weight the driver of the larger vehicle will have to prove that he is not in the wrong, i.e, a presumption which he can rebut. Second, in any fatal accident the driver who is charged in court for dangerous driving will immediately have his driving licence suspended until his trial is completed.

Fatal accidents and those leaving the victims maimed result in a loss to society especially if the victims are young. The Points Demerit System will be revised so that offences such as inconsiderate, careless and dangerous driving will carry more penalty points. A nationwide "Road Safety For You" Campaign will be launched in June 1977. Its aim is to remind both motorists and pedestrians of the need to observe the Highway Code.

The Drug Problem

Almost 90% of those detained in 1975 for drug abuse were between 15 - 29 years old. In 1970 this age group was estimated at 582, 900 accounting for 28.1% of the population. By 1980 it is projected that this age group will have increased to 810, 000 or 33.8% of the population. The spread of the drug problem must be stopped quickly. Drug abusers and addicts must be flushed out and isolated for a sufficiently long period to prevent them from infecting others.

To do this the Police, Special Constabulary and Vigilante Corps will be used extensively to round up drug addicts. More centres will be established to rehabilitate the addicts. The Central Narcotics Bureau will concentrate on smashing the drug supply networks.

To make it more difficult for subversives, drug traffickers and criminals to nip into and out of Singapore the Immigration Department will introduce exit control early in 1978. By that time the Marine Branch of the Police will have intensified the patrolling of the Straits of Johore.

Similarly, it is necessary to make it more difficult for subversives, drug traffickers and criminals to carry on their illegal activities in Singapore unnoticed. National Servicemen with police training will provide a good coverage of the vicinity of their home and place of employment. It is estimated that by 1980 there will be 4300 full-time National Servicemen on active duty and 6800 Reservists in the Special Constabulary and Vigilante Corps. There will also be some 66, 000 part-time National Servicemen in the SC and VC. Many of them will be organised to serve as a link between the enforcement agencies and the people. In HDB estates they can serve in block committees, one to each or several blocks of flats.

With the best of prevention there will still be criminals and prisoners. Since April 1976 the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) has introduced new industries in the prisons and created new jobs for 740 prisoners. At the end of 1976, 2972 prisoners were productively engaged. The remaining 305 prisoners will be given work when the new workshops are ready.

SCORE will next make the traditional prison industries such as laundry, furniture-making and metalwork more competitive. SCORE is planning to organise a production co-operative for discharged prisoners who cannot find jobs on their own.

CHUA SIAN CHIN Minister for Home Affairs