MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

PROF S JAYAKUMAR Minister for Home Affairs

The Ministry's priorities are law and order, Civil Defence, the drug problem, and the problem of deterring illegal immigrants.

Police

Neighbourhood police posts will be set up in all constituencies by mid-1991.

The Police will install an automated fingerprint identification system this year to speed up identification of suspects. They will computerise the Police Operations Room, to enable them to respond more quickly to emergency calls. Over the longer term, Police will upgrade crime detection and investigation through a computerised criminal intelligence system, voice-print analysis, polygraph analysis and other scientific means.

The Marine Police will upgrade its command, control, communication and intelligence system to improve the security of our coastal waters.

Police will build a new Police HQ, Traffic and Marine HQs, plan for a new Police Academy, and re-develop the Gurkha Contingent complex.

Civil Defence

With the integration of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Singapore Fire Service, the combined Forces (SJCDF) have pooled their resources for a better response to emergencies and disasters. SJCDF will have a new command, control and communication system by 1990. This will help them to coordinate the deployment of their units, which are spread out in different locations in the Republic.

SJCDF will also install a public warning system by 1992, and develop a Civil Defence Academy and a new HQ building by 1995.

Drug Enforcement

We will introduce legislation on asset seizure and money laundering as an additional deterrent against drug traffickers. The Central Narcotics Bureau will continue to suppress the supply of and demand for drugs. It will focus its preventive education programme on the more vulnerable youth groups.

Rehabilitation

Prisons Department will tackle the problems of overcrowding, manpower shortage and recidivism. It will build two new maximum security prisons by 1992 and a new drug rehabilitation centre by 1995. It will improve the classification system of prisoners and drug addicts for more effective rehabilitation.

Identification and Immigration Control

The National Registration Department will introduce a new improved and more secure identity card this year. The Immigration Department will introduce machine-readable Singapore Passports, to speed up clearance at the immigration checkpoints. It will upgrade the entry and exit points to provide better facilities and services to the public. For the longer term, the Immigration Department will re-develop the Woodlands Checkpoint to meet the anticipated growth of traffic up to the year 2005.