COMMISSIONER’S ADDRESS

THE YEAR IN PERSPECTIVE

2006 was an exhilarating year for the Singapore Police Force(SPF). Beyond dealing with the twin threats of crime and terrorism,SPF was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring security and order at several major events, including the General Elections, and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank (IMF-WB) Board of Governors Annual Meetings 2006 or Singapore 2006 (S2006). In terms of community engagement, SPF, while focused on deepening ties with the local populace, also sought to expand its network of international partners so as to better capitalise on the strengths of the global policing community. An example of our efforts include the propagation of new initiatives as Chair of the 27th ASEANAPOL Conference aimed at promoting strategic conversations between the ASEAN Chiefs of Police as well as with global partners. In tandem with operational excellence, SPF has also been actively pursuing organisational excellence. This has culminated in the recent attainment of the Singapore Quality Award with Special Commendation, which is a testament of our progress in building world-class systems, processes and structures supported by a people-centric culture.

Despite these additional commitments, SPF was not distracted from its primary mission to fight crime. Overall crime in 2006 fell by 10% as compared to 2005, from 37,093 to 33,393 cases. Offences such as rioting, housebreaking, motor vehicle theft and robbery saw a marked decrease and represented SPF’s proactive approach to prevent and deter crime. The number of youths arrested also declined, further affirming the effectiveness of our prevention education programmes targeted at reducing youth crime.

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

Underscoring our success in ensuring a low crime rate is a robust framework built on the strategy of community policing. In 2006, we further extended our community involvement strategy in line with the spirit of the Community Engagement Programme (CEP) mooted by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to imbue greater resilience in the community. Beyond leveraging on community partnership to combat crime and terrorism, SPF has moved towards a more proactive approach of community engagement, where through the stimulation of active citizenry, Singaporeans take greater ownership of security issues in their precinct and collectively build resilience. Other than engaging grassroot organisations, SPF has also conscientiously expanded its efforts in the private sector through schemes such as Security Watch Groups (SWGs) and Corporate First Responders (CFRs), which seek to enhance the readiness of private building owners in preparation for civil contingencies and ‘harden’ buildings in Singapore against terrorist attacks.

With the aim of building an inclusive society, SPF remains sensitive to the needs of everyone in society and has introduced a number of initiatives targeted at protecting vulnerable groups. An example is the ‘Youth-Hanging-Out-Late’ initiative where parents of youths found loitering outdoors in the wee hours of the morning and engaging in at-risk activities will be informed by way of a letter from the police of their children’s activities and the need to improve supervision. We have also extended our engagement efforts online. In early 2007, we launched a ‘Missing Persons Website’ to enlist the assistance of the public in locating missing persons. Thus far, these initiatives have proven effective and SPF will continue to work hand-in-hand with the community to build a caring home for all.

ENHANCING OPERATIONAL CAPABILITES

In response to challenges such as changing population demographics, shifting social mores and an evolving operating environment, SPF has been fervently building up its operational capabilities. In preparation for S2006 last year, we honed our public order capabilities through the formation of multidisciplinary task forces, upgrading of equipment and refinement of tactics. Particularly, the formation of public order task forces represents SPF’s ability to innovate and create new capabilities from limited resources.Notwithstanding zero incidents at home, we remain keenly aware of the threat of terrorism and have been incessantly building up covert and overt capabilities against any attacks. To enhance border security and deter acts of terrorism at sea, we opened the new Police Coast Guard (PCG) Brani base with state-of-the-art facilities in February this year. The base will set the stage for newer boats and realistic training to ensure that PCG remains one step ahead of its adversaries. To enhance our abilities to detect and apprehend perpetrators of terrorist incidents, SPF established the Bomb and Explosive Investigation Division (BEID) under the ambit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 2005. Since then, the BEID outfit has developed into one of the best
in the world for post-blast investigations in terms of equipment and know-how. SPF has also enhanced police patrols in crowded areas and on public infrastructure such as Mass Rapid Transit trains so as to deter would-be terrorists.

This year, we also celebrated the 40th anniversary of National Service. To maximise the potential of National Service officers, we have introduced vocational training for greater specialisation.

BUILDING ORGANISATIONAL RESILIENCE

As a Learning Organisation, SPF remains a firm proponent of organisational excellence (OE). In fact, SPF recognises that organisational and operational excellence are limbs which must be developed in tandem for us to sprint ahead and not stumble. To this end, we focus on creating a culture which is conducive for learning and sharing. Our OE journey started with the alignment of the entire organisation towards a strategic purpose through the co-creation of a Shared Vision in 1997. Since then, we have made tremendous progress, evident from the intangible shifts in organisational culture as well as tangible accolades garnered. Our relentless pursuit of OE is fuelled by our thirst for continuous improvement.

Some of the more recent standards achieved include the ISO 9001 for counter services, a feat testifying to our insistence on quality assurance to our customers. SPF also attained the Top Public Service Award, the pinnacle recognition of organisational excellence in 2006. This year, we applied for SQA re-certification and were awarded the SQA with Special Commendation, making us the first public institution to receive this prestigious award. The attainment of higher honours this time round supersedes our achievement of the SQA five years ago and signals that the fundamentals of SPF remain sound.

PEOPLE AS OUR MOST VALUED ASSETS

The tagline ‘An Extraordinary Career’ exemplifies the efforts by SPF in ensuring that our officers develop rewarding careers. In April 2007, the Public Service Division announced salary revisions for the entire Civil Service to reward officers for their contributions to the trailblazing economy, with a greater quantum for Home Affairs uniformed officers. This has no doubt enhanced the attractiveness of SPF as a choice employer and allowed us to compete more favourably for the recruitment and retention of talent. The engagement of our officers, however, extends beyond financial remuneration to providing our officers with opportunities for personal development, so as to unleash maximum human potential.

SPF ON THE WORLD STAGE

As an altruistic organisation, SPF has also been actively expanding its sphere of influence outside Singapore. We regularly send officers to supplement humanitarian missions overseas. In 2006, 21 officers from the United Nations Peace Keeping Force were sent to East Timor for a period of 12 months to contribute to safety and security in the emerging region. My election as Vice- President (Asia) at the 75th Interpol General Assembly last year as well as my appointment as the Chairman for ASEANAPOL, will also allow SPF to have a larger voice on the global stage. Through platforms like Interpol and ASEANAPOL, we aim to foster the networking of police forces around the world. During the most recent ASEANAPOL Conference which was held in Singapore, we mooted the idea of hosting a Heads of Delegation Forum to facilitate dialogue between ASEAN Chiefs of Police and allow for the charting of direction for the entire region. During the forum, the Heads of Delegations also agreed unanimously to the need for greater engagement of other strategic partners, a major milestone indeed. SPF will continue to build bridges with others so as to contribute to the global security landscape.

A FORCE FOR THE NATION

As encapsulated in our Shared Vision, SPF is an organisation that embraces learning and innovation. The relentless pursuit of excellence, especially in the areas of operations, investigations and intelligence, has made us a Force feared by those inclined to crime and disorder, yet endearing to the community.

Bearing in mind that ‘hardware’ is nothing without ‘heartware’, we will continue to expand the capacities of our people to complement innovations in systems and processes. The strength of SPF lies in the quality of our officers and I am confident that the passion, dedication and tenacity of our people will allow the SPF to progress towards our collective aspiration of being A Force for the Nation and One that Inspires the World.