INTRODUCTION

Ask any SPF officers where they underwent their training, “Police Depot”, “ Police Training School ”, “ Police Academy ”, “Training Command” or “TRACOM”. The names may differ, but it is actually the same place that every police officer is referring to— Training Command (TRACOM).– It is where all SPF recruits go through a rigorous training regime which churns out dutiful and responsible Police Officers from Police Officer trainees.

METAMORPHOSIS - FROM POLICE DEPOT TO TRAINING COMMAND

TRACOM started off as the Police Depot, a temporary training establishment at Shenton Way which consisted of several attap huts that housed offices, classrooms, trainee barracks and a guard room, It was relocated to a permanent site at Thomson Road in 1929.

The Police Depot was renamed the Police Training School in 1945. It continued to provide training facilities for officers and men till 1963. September 16, 1963 was the day Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo (now Sabah) to form Malaysia. One day later, the SPF was formally integrated into the Royal Malaysian Police Force (RMPF) and the Police Training School was tasked with the training of intermediate junior officers. During this time, it was renamed Sekolah Latihan Polis. It was renamed the Police Training School upon Singapore’s independence on August 9, 1965.

When the SPF underwent a streamlining exercise in 1969, the Police Training School was renamed the Police Academy. This marked a significant milestone in the history of the SPF as it reaffirmed the importance of training as a key process in raising the calibre of police officers. The Police Academy and the Police Training Department represented the line and staff functions of training respectively. They merged to form the Training Command (TRACOM) in 1997. After seventy-seven glorious years at Thomson Road, TRACOM moved to its new home at the Home Team Academy (HTA) at Old Choa Chu Kang Road in January 2006.

OVERVIEW OF TRAINING COMMAND (TRACOM)

 TRACOM’s mission is to train and develop professional individuals and effective leaders. We are guided by our shared vision of being an internationally-renowned law enforcement training institution, constantly striving to achieve beyond excellence.

TRACOM undertakes the training of trainees as well as serving officers. The trainees undergo residential training to prepare them for frontline duties. The Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) Core values and discipline are also instilled in our officers so that they will be able to wholeheartedly serve the community and country, while upholding the high moral standards synonymous with the SPF. TRACOM also offers an extensive range of courses for serving officers to enhance their various occupational skills.

A substantial amount of training is conducted in the classroom but team concepts, group discussions and the use of external trainers as facilitators have been incorporated into the training regime to make classroom training more dynamic. Outside the classroom, field training, which includes physical fitness training, scenario-based training and experiential learning, is also an important component of many training programmes. Apart from reinforcing classroom training, it also enhances discipline, fitness, teamwork and communication. There is also self-paced or distance learning to encourage trainees and serving officers to take responsibility for their own learning. State-of-the-art technology features prominently in the officers’ training as well, which can be seen from the use of the most up-to-date audio-visual aids, computer-based training packages, and hands-on training to allow the officers to familiarize themselves with operational systems.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: C/O Home Team Academy, Old Choa Chu Kang Road, S(698928)

Telephone: 64653434 (Operator)