SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for Home Affairs in view of manpower demands in areas such as terrorism prevention, whether (i) the Singapore Police Force has sufficient resources to respond to ordinary crime concerns, and (ii) there is a need to commit additional resources to the Police.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Let me reassure Members that the Police has not lowered its readiness to deal with the crime situation. The need to combat both crime and security threats after 9-11 has certainly stretched Police resources. However, the Singapore Police Force has reorganised itself and has drawn on additional resources to deal with these twin challenges.

Following September 11, both anti-crime and security patrols were increased significantly. For example, Police crime patrols increased by 49% as compared to the period before 9-11. Police was able to achieve this by leveraging on every available staff including Police NSmen. Immediately after 9-11, Police froze all leave. For 2002, Police restricted leave to urgent cases. Police also scaled down non-essential services, such as the handling of lost and found reports and rescuing of trapped animals, in order to free up resources. In addition, the re-organisation of the Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) system to the Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) system in 1996 has enabled the Police to deploy more officers on patrols, thus increasing police visibility in the neighbourhood and to respond quickly to crime cases.

More importantly, Police has been able to handle the twin challenges of combating crime and preventing terrorism because it taps the resources of other Home Team departments, as well as the community at large. Many Singaporeans are involved in the Community Safety and Security Programme and Neighbourhood Watch Zone activities such as Citizens-on-Patrol and crime prevention discussions for the elderly. Terrorism prevention, in particular, involves the Home Team and does not fall solely on the shoulders of the Police. Hence, the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority also play key roles.

Indeed, Singapore remains one of the safest cities in the world to live in. The Home Team will continue to ensure this to be so.