Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

Speech By Mr Wong Kan Seng, Minister For Home Affairs, On 5 April 2001 (Thu) At 9.25 Am At The Police Workplan Seminar 2001, Held At The Orchid Country Club

GPC Chairman

Commissioner of Police,

Officers of Singapore Police Force,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.

Singapore has been ranked high in most international safety and security surveys. The Singapore Police Force has consistently done well in polls conducted by global assessors such as the World Economic Forum and the Political Economic Risk Consultancy. Recently, the latest World Competitiveness Yearbook rated Singapore safest in terms of personal security and private property.

Many factors contribute to safety and security in Singapore. A key factor is the good work put in by the police and the other Home Team departments, and in close cooperation with the public. The outcome is the low crime rate and the high percentage of community-assisted arrests. Keep up the good work!

I posed you three challenges last year, to:

Achieve excellence in people and work processes;

Strengthen community partnership;

Enhance operational capabilities to take on the changing requirements of the new millennium.

You are establishing a dual-track career structure that offers personnel with specialist skills more opportunities for career advancement. You should continue to regularly review your manpower policies so that the Police Force can continue to compete for good recruits and retain the personnel we need.

This, together with the drive towards being a caring organisation which emphasises on treating staff as your most valued asset, will help the police remain a choice employer.

Your move to entrench the core values among your officers, is a good one. The publication of a core values handbook in the form of a readable collection of anecdotes is a good idea. I hope the book entitled "Herbal Tonic for the Police Officer's Well-Being" will help remind officers to discharge duties with professionalism and courage, display fairness and impartiality in the pursuit of justice, deliver quality service to the public, strive for excellence and to serve our nation with loyalty and integrity.

To enhance operational capabilities, you have completed your review on the Use of Force doctrines. One of the most important outcomes of the review was the introduction of the T-baton. This will help officers to deal with a wider range of situations where force is required in the discharge of their duties.

The NPCs have been well-received. Crime has fallen and more residents are getting involved in ensuring safety and security in their own neighbourhood. Two surveys on the NPC system reveal that 90 per cent of those living in areas with the new NPCs recognise the benefits offered by NPCs and prefer the new advancement in the neighbourhood policing system to the previous system of operating based only on NPPs. It is indeed a reflection of the Government that we do not rest on the laurels of success, but continue to review, considering changing circumstances. In this case, the police thought ahead and remodelled the system into an even more effective NPC system.

While you have made significant progress in responding to the three challenges I posed you last year, the momentum forward must be maintained if you want to be a world-class police force that the community look up to for protection and enforcement of laws.

As you discuss the workplans for the coming year through the perspective of your Shared Vision, please think about two issues that will play an increasing role in affecting the community’s sense of safety and security. One is the increasing prominence of non-traditional crimes and the other is the issue of excellence as a public organisation.

Non-traditional crimes are increasing. The Computer Forensic Branch, officially launched in September last year, had already received 75 requests for forensic examinations by the end of the year. This is almost double the requests from the year before.

Crime is no longer restricted to the tangible and visible – it has moved into the realm of the virtual. In the past, it was clear who the victims and culprits were, and what crime had been committed. But increasingly the links are no longer clear. Many victims of these new crimes may not even know that they have been victimised. I do not mean just crimes over the Internet, but there are and will be new kinds of crimes that we have not even thought possible.

One example is the alarming rise in identity theft cases in the United States. The Private Rights Clearinghouse estimated that there were 750,000 cases of identity thefts in America alone last year. In many cases, the criminals assumed the identity of another person to register for credit cards and other credit facilities. They then go on a spending spree, only to leave the victims with large credit bills to pay. Sadly, many of these cases remain unsolved because it is easy to cover one’s track electronically. You must be prepared, both in terms of skill set and mindset, to deal with crimes that do not fit easily into our traditional understanding of crime.

As traditional "hard" crimes such as robberies, housebreaking and snatch thefts decline, other safety and security issues move up to assume higher prominence. At the recent Parliamentary Budget Debates, questions raised on Home Affairs related to community policing, community bonding, police presence, juvenile crimes and illegal immigration. You, especially the police officers in the frontline, need to better understand and respond to changes in the community's needs and concerns. Policy-crafters also need to have their ears to the ground to respond more promptly and sensitively to ground needs.

In the area of organisational excellence, I note that you have started on your journey towards the Singapore Quality Award and the People Developer Standard.

This journey of organisational excellence is worth taking. The comprehensive review of the Police Force in all the areas of leadership, planning, processes, people, customers, partners and results, benchmarking against world-class organisations, will help put the Police Force onto a higher path of global excellence. The Police Force would benefit from going through its systems and processes with a fine-toothed comb, and benchmark itself continually with the best in the world. This way, you safeguard yourself from becoming less relevant or ineffective in responding to changes.

With the attainment of SQC and later, the SQA, the onus is greater on the Police Force, not only to be a good enforcer, but also be a good service provider. The public will continue to expect better and faster service from you in this internet age, whether it be response to calls for help or replies to queries. Old parameters may be challenged and questioned. The public may well listen to other voices if the police stand is not made clear promptly.

Moving your services on-line is an example of how you meet some of these demands. Members of public can now renew their driving licences on-line. Soon, they will be able to pay their traffic fines through their banks. The setting up of a one-stop centre while working with other agencies to streamline your processes for the application of public entertainment licences, will bring greater convenience to the public. The proactive review of laws that may contain outmoded sections is another area that should continue.

As you strive towards your shared vision, you must always bear in mind that you are trusted with a critical national responsibility and therefore should continue to serve with integrity.

With this thought, let me wish all of you fruitful reflections and discussions. I declare this workplan seminar open.

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