Commissioner of Police,

Officers of the Singapore Police Force,

Home Team officers and partners,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning

The Crime Situation Today is Good

            The crime situation in Singapore for 2004 has remained stable with a slight increase of three per cent in the total number of seizable offences committed.  The increase was due mainly to theft and related offences as well as the increased cases of drink driving. An encouraging sign was also the decreases seen in seven out of the nine major categories of crimes including decreases in robbery and housebreaking cases.

2          These offences can be reduced further by the continued partnership between the Police and the public in crime prevention measures. The improved Singapore Police Force website now contains relevant safety and security information pertaining to  specific neighbourhoods. This is a practical step by the Police in the right direction. Residents can access this information and take proactive action to safeguard their community by adopting appropriate crime prevention measures.

A More Complex World Fraught with Changes

3          But policing today is more than just keeping crime down and educating the public about crime prevention measures.  The world today is far more complex than the one we know in the last 20 years.  It will, in fact, become increasingly more complex.

4          Many scholars have observed that going into the future, we will experience more discontinuities than continuity. What they mean is that rapid change and sudden disruptions will be part and parcel of the future world that we have to operate in. Indeed, this point is clear if we consider just how much the security landscape of the whole world has changed following the terrorist attacks in New York on 11 Sept 2001.

5          In fact even before 2001, Police and security forces everywhere have been faced with complex changes in their operational terrain. The growth of the Internet for instance has surfaced new threats from cyber-space.  Some criminal organisations have learnt to exploit the Internet to escape detection. Police forces have to learn how to deal with this. They have had to acquire not just new technologies and skills, they also needed to discover new ways of looking at and understanding these new challenges. As one scholar describes it, this requires “a nimble turn of mind”, in other words, a certain mental capacity which can flexibly adapt to radical change.

6          All these changes in the world around us and within our own societies will directly impact how our Police officers do their job.  For instance, they must not only learn new knowledge and skills to deal with both conventional and unconventional terrorist threats; they also need to review their traditional thinking about certain familiar crimes.

7          Illegal passport syndicates, human trafficking, money laundering and smuggling, all these need to be looked at differently today because such criminal networks have been exploited by terrorists.  Our Police officers need to look at them through new lenses. They need to be more sensitive to the different shapes the terrorist threat can take. They need to develop the right reflexes or they would be caught flat-footed. Even an illegally parked car which seems strangely overloaded must be looked at differently and not be dismissed as only a traffic violation issue. The need to constantly review and adjust what we do and how we do it applies not only to terrorism. It also applies to policing in general.

Beyond Crime Statistics - Understanding Change and its Implications to Policing

8          One of the key challenges for the Police in dealing with crime as well as law and order today is to be able to read the changes on the ground. This in turn will allow the Police to stay a step ahead of some of the key trends and change.  As our society evolves, our values, norms and mores will change too. This in turn means that policing methods will also have to be adjusted as well. In itself such changes are natural and are a healthy part of a society’s development.

9          However we must recognise upfront that not all changes are healthy or good. For instance if the public attitude towards synthetic drug abuse change to become more indulgent and drug taking is portrayed as a cool lifestyle choice, we will need to intervene and counter it uncompromisingly. Otherwise it will unravel all that we achieved with our community partners to keep Singapore drug-free.

10        Likewise in the current climate of social and political change in Singapore, there may be groups which will push to stretch and test the boundaries of the law which the Police has to maintain. Again this is fine so long as such efforts are lawful and do not wind up breaking the law. The Police, however, must not hesitate to take action against anyone or any group which decide to take the law into their own hands. If the Police fail to stop them, then by default, the rule of law is undermined. We would be conceding that certain individuals or groups can indeed choose which law they wish to obey and which law they can reject by breaking it.

11        The Police need to distinguish between what is fundamental and more serious and what is not. Take the case of illegal money lending. Their runners harass and intimidate innocent families. Some even commit wanton acts of vandalism. These people cannot be dealt with simply as vandals or as an unlicensed money lender. The Police should critically review loan shark syndicates and look at them for what they really are. They are not just unlicensed money lenders; they must be viewed as organised criminal syndicates which systematically use criminal intimidation and harassment in their trade.

Converting and Expanding Established Strengths 

12        To be able to stay   in tune with changes on the ground, the Police officer needs to be actively involved on the ground. In a recent visit to a foreign Police unit, I was told that before a Police CCTV operator there is deployed on the job, he has to first pound the beat covered by his CCTV station. He must be completely familiar with the ground before he is able to sit behind the CCTV monitors. In this way, he can relate the pictures he sees on the screen to his personal and direct knowledge. 

13        At the Home Team Sector Workshops in February, you were asked to map out the terrain in your sector. No matter how high-tech we go, nothing can replace knowing your beat, knowing your neighbourhood. This year’s terrain-mapping is only a start.

14        As you go on your rounds, your observations are valuable and can help build up a powerful database of your sector terrain which will help to tackle crime and terrorism. Indeed I would expect that some of you would already be familiar with the type of people and the particular geography of your various divisions. If so, then the challenge for you is how to convert this knowledge by enriching it through cultivating relationships with these people you have identified in the sector.  They can be of further help to you as your eyes and ears on the ground.

15        Finding new ways to revitalise established strengths and resources is something the Force will need to urgently look at given the threat of terrorism. Police-community partnership has been a major pillar in our success in combating crime. I understand that the Police is engaging over 100 key representatives from the community and industry in a dialogue at this workplan seminar this afternoon. This is indeed a welcome move.

16        The social capital of trust and support which the Police enjoys in Singapore is unique when compared with the situations in many other countries. This positive and often collaborative relationship is a vital component in our efforts to keep Singapore safe. Looking ahead, the challenge for the Police Force is to find ways to convert this strategic resource to combat the threat of terrorism as well.

Going Back to Basics – Individual Empowerment and Ownership

17        The Force has generally done well in addressing the present terrorist threat. For instance, frontline Police Officers are now equipped with Bomb Suppression Blankets for use before the arrival of bomb disposal experts. All Police Fast Response Cars are also equipped with full personal protection equipment to enable officers to handle biological or chemical threats. We have also purchased escape hoods to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from the affected zone.  The establishment of the Bomb and Explosive Investigation Division further strengthens the post-blast investigation capabilities of the Force.

18        In the current security situation, the Force has also assumed additional responsibilities. This demand on Police resources will not decline or diminish in the foreseeable future. In fact, the Force will need to do more with the same resources. There is for example potential in finding new areas of deployment to maximise Police NS resources.  The recent establishment of a MRT Policing unit which will be operational in August this year is a positive and bold initiative. It represents a new avenue for the deployment of PNS(full-time) resources in conjunction with regulars.  It gives them another meaningful stake in safeguarding the security of Singapore.

19        Consolidating our strengths is a sensible way to harness collective experience and resources. In this regard, developing thoughtful and well-considered SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and ROEs (Rules of Engagement) is useful. They capture the valuable experience of the past. They also try to anticipate some of the scenarios of the present and the proper responses required. However, SOPs and ROEs in themselves are clearly inadequate, especially in the face of rapid and complex change.

20        Essentially, there should be no substitute for direct ownership and responsibility in making judgements on the ground. This is crucial for decisive action in any urgent situation. The officer on the ground is often the most crucial element determining success or failure in any operation. He has the most important role to play in the immediate situation and needs to do the job right. How he actually responds in a given situation will determine success or failure regardless of how well written the directives are for him to follow. A small problem may escalate out of control because he fails to act and timely intervention was not made.   On the other hand, a potentially big problem or crisis may be averted because the officer on the ground, took the right measures immediately.

21        This means that a policeman on the ground must be an officer who understands the key principles of the ROEs and SOPs. However, he must not be one who blindly follows the SOP to the letter. In other words, the officer must apply SOPs and ROEs intelligently and not mechanically. He must use them as a guide. He must not become an unthinking instrument of the SOP, mindlessly following its prescription regardless of the real situation at hand.

22        Fundamentally, what is required is an organisation of learning thinking policemen and policewomen. These are officers who are constantly seeking to do their jobs better each day. They begin to do so by being always actively in tune with what is going on around them in their environment. I was struck by an episode which was told to me by a Police General in a foreign service I visited recently. He told me how an off-duty officer on the way home with some colleagues after a long tour of duty, noticed a man with a haversack on the street. There was nothing explicit that was out of place but this officer’s professional instincts sensed the man to be suspicious. He persuaded his colleagues to turn their car around and together they spot-checked the man. The man was found to be carrying a bag full of explosives and was arrested.

23        What is required is a policeman or policewoman who brings to the exercise of his judgement, all of his or her experience, training, knowledge, professional instincts and common sense. Such an officer is vital if the Force is to continue to be effective in the face of new and urgent challenges which it will face in the times ahead.

Concluding Remarks

24        Thank you for the good work, commitment and the personal sacrifices all of you have made in pursuit of your work. You have undoubtedly contributed to the mission of keeping Singapore safe and secure.  Your challenge must be to ensure that you are able to continue to do so effectively and meaningfully in the future.

25        Even as we do well in maintaining law and order, we must always critically examine what we do and study how to do better.  Only then can we improve and be better in discharging our mission.

26        To do this, you need to believe in yourself and be prepared to develop and grow your professional abilities as well as your personal qualities of leadership. You must aspire to become empowered and thinking officers, ready for anything the future has in store for you.  This is what we must expect of all our officers of all ranks.  

27        On this note, I declare the Police Workplan Seminar open and wish you all a fruitful seminar ahead.

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