MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

MR WONG KAN SENG Minister for Home Affairs

To enhance the maintenance of law, order and security, the Ministry of Home Affairs will implement new initiatives to combat crime and drug abuse, and to raise civil defence preparedness. Law and Order

2. The Police Force will:

a. Intensify its community-policing efforts by training officers to solve problems at the neighbourhood level. They will work more closely with community leaders to achieve this;

b Develop a Command, Control and Communication (C3) System over the next three years. This computerised system will monitor incidents and aid decision-making. Amongst others, Police cars will be equipped with data terminals; and

c. Upgrade the Intelligence Division (ID) to keep ahead of new trends in increasingly complex cross-border crimes.

3. The Traffic Police will:

a. Review and tighten the testing and licensing of motorcyclists in view of their high fatality rate in accidents;

b. Require Probationary Class 2B and Class 3 driving licence holders to display special `P' plates to encourage them to drive more carefully; and

c. Make more use of technology to monitor traffic to deal with accidents and traffic jams.

Anti-Drug Measures

4. The Central Narcotics Bureau will:

a. Intensify action against Singapore-based syndicates involved in international drug trafficking since an increasing number of Singaporeans have been arrested overseas for drug trafficking;

b. Enforce the recently enacted Drug Trafficking (Confiscation of Benefits) Act against drug traffickers; and

c. Emphasize preventive drug education and work closely with non-government organisations to tackle the problem of relapses among addicts. Rehabilitation of Offenders

5. We will open the new Tanah Merah Prison and Changi Women's Prison in early 1994. These prisons will relieve acute overcrowding and offer better rehabilitation facilities.

6. The new Tampines Drug Rehabilitation Complex will be ready by 1999. This will be the first facility designed specially for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts. The Complex will eventually replace most of the existing drug rehabilitation centres.

Civil Defence

7. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will:

a. Build up a pool of paramedical personnel for its emergency ambulance service by 1996. This will relieve the shortage of ambulance nurses without compromising quality;

b. Equip ambulances with defibrillators by February 1994 to improve pre-hospital emergency cardiac care to heart attack victims; and

c. Strengthen its ability to handle incidents involving hazardous materials, such as spillage and accidental release of dangerous chemicals and gases. Special units known as HAZMAT (Hazardous Materials) teams will be ready by 1997.

Immigration and National Registration

8. The Immigration Department will work with economic agencies to attract foreign talent and skills to Singapore and grant Employment Passes and Permanent Residence to those who can be an asset to Singapore.

9. The Immigration Department will upgrade its operational systems and improve its work procedures to serve the public better. It will further shorten the time for processing applications for permits and passes, despite their growing volume. 10. The National Registration Department will complete the Identity Card Re-registration Exercise by end 1994. It will also implement the One-Stop-Change-of-Address-Reporting system in 1994.