As I reflect upon what has been achieved in the past year, I am glad that we have put in place several initiatives to ensure that the Singapore Police Force (SPF) remains a progressive and enlightened organisation; one capable of identifying new challenges and implementing systemic changes to meet them, thereby ensuring Singapore’s continued security. However, given the increasing frequency of unexpected events that we have seen occurring all around the world, I am concerned about how to further develop the SPF into an agile and yet resilient organisation that will not only survive a “Black Swan” event but come out of it stronger and wiser.

The Black Swan, The Impact of the Highly Probable is a book written by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. In the book, a Black Swan is a metaphor for a highly improbable event which is unpredictable and carries a massive impact. The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 is one such Black Swan.

FY 2007: Another busy year for SPF
Events and activities filled our calendars in 2007. Most notably, we have successfully managed the security deployment of the National Day Parade at its new Marina Bay location in August and the ASEAN Summit 2007 in November. Despite having many of these additional commitments, our organisation remained steadfast in our mission to combat crime and terrorism. Overall crime rate fell by 5.4% from 756 to 715 per 100,000 population in 2007, which was the third lowest in 20 years.

With the concerted efforts of all units, we have achieved much. Declines in offences such as theft, housebreaking and related crimes validate SPF’s persistent efforts to deter and combat crime. In addition,
public-assisted arrests accounted for about 37% of the total arrests in selected crimes in 2007 and the clearance rate for overall crime increased by one percentage point. This positive achievement is a testimonial to the effectiveness of the policecommunity partnership, a nexus which we have strengthened over time.

Despite the increasingly complex landscape, and the threat of terrorism, Singapore’s excellent performance in surveys conducted by Global Peace Index 2008, the Global Competitiveness Report
2007-2008 and the Mercer Quality of Living Report 2008 , particularly in the area of maintaining public safety and security, further attests to our vigilance and efforts against the twin threats of crime and terror.

Putting Our Best Foot Forward: Delivering the Best Police Services

Looking ahead, we will spare no effort in achieving our mission to uphold the law, maintain order and keep the peace in the Republic of Singapore. To do so, we will embrace a three-pronged strategy to enhance our internal capabilities, leverage on innovation as well as embark on a paradigm shift in our community
policing strategy.

To continuously enhance our internal capabilities, we regularly survey and adopt some of the latest developments in technology and capabilities available both locally and globally. One example of this
is our recent acquisition of custom-built, high-speed patrol vessels to replace our current fleet of Coastal Patrol Craft. These high performance vessels will provide even greater deterrence against seaward threats
and enhance the security of Singapore’s Territorial Waters.

To strengthen our ability to respond to any major crisis, we have also developed a set of fully integrated mobile Forward Command Post vehicles. These vehicles contain key command and control systems
which, when connected to our Police Headquarters Command Post, enable the incident manager to effectively command any police operation in situ.

Beyond operational needs, we constantly review the impact of major developments in Singapore on the police force. One example is our response to URA’s master plan for Downtown @ Marina Bay to become Singapore’s international business and financial hub, a distinctive and global location for business, living, working and leisure. In tandem with the development in the Marina Bay area, the upcoming Marina Neighbourhood Police Centre will be adopting a business-centric model to better serve the clientele in downtown Singapore – a sizeable cosmopolitan population consisting of workers and tourists as well as thriving businesses.

In the areas of innovation and service development, I would like to highlight the recently launched Short Message Service (SMS) 70999 initiative which epitomises the organisation’s spirit to push the frontiers of policing. This new service allows the deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech-impaired to send text messages to
SPF. It further reflects the customer-centric approach we take in developing new police services that cater to what our customers truly need.

Community Policing: A Community-Driven Mode

Since the adoption of the Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) system in 1983, we have engaged the community as a strategic partner. As the NPC system replaced the NPP system in 1997, we also shifted from a community-based to a community-focused mode of policing.

My vision is that SPF will make a giant leap in strategy, by adopting a communitydriven mode of policing where communities would have a voice in prioritising policing resources, to meet the demands of the local
population. Coupled with this shift, we will embrace new modes of engagement. For example, the SPF previously relied on geographically-based Safety and Security Watch Groups (SSWGs) to engage the
business communities. Most recently, we created industry-based SSWGs to facilitate the sharing of best safety and security practices within the same industry. Concurrently, we also launched Project Guardian, an initiative to tap on the potential of the private security industry to respond jointly with the SPF in a crisis.
These are just some of the initiatives undertaken to empower the community to take ownership of its safety and security.

Staying in Shape: To be Always Ready

For SPF to sustain its efforts in building capacity, we must also not neglect our organisational health, but keep ourselves fit and healthy. Over the past year, a series of human resource (HR) policy changes
have been implemented, in recognition of our people-focused strategy. We have already seen and will continue to roll out a host of changes to increase the inflow, enhance the retention, and improve the
posting of staff among departments so that we increase exposure to varying demands.

In the area of personal development, we will provide more upgrading opportunities through proactive sponsorships under the Continuous Education Programme. We have also embarked on a rigorous job
grading exercise for all uniform and civilian schemes of service. I am very heartened to see the early fruits from the first phase of this exercise.

In anticipation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in 2009, which will be attended by the leaders of the Asia Pacific region, we are acquiring additional security and public order capabilities and
developing new doctrines and tactics. Recognising the possible impact of major contingencies, we have developed plans and Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) to anticipate and deal with the evolving threats of global pandemics. Preparing today for a complex tomorrow is an unending quest towards perfecting our plans.

In Pursuance of Organisational Excellence: SQA with Special Commendation

The true milestones in an organisation’s journey towards Organisational Excellence are marked not by the achievement of international benchmarks and national awards, but more meaningfully, by the realisation of and improvements on any weaknesses.

Driven by our commitment towards constant improvement, we clinched the highly prized Singapore Quality Award (SQA) with Special Commendation in 2007. The SQA is a symbol of worldclass organisational excellence, and the model underpinning the SQA is based on the globally accepted standards that are found in the US Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award, the Europe Quality Award and the Australian Business Excellence Award.

The SQA benchmarks SPF against the best in both the private and public sectors. As the first and largest public sector organisation to achieve the Award, it promises the community that the SPF is committed
towards maintaining world-class systems, processes and values, which enable our officers to deliver quality service to the public. It also assures our own officers that we belong to a world-class organisation;
one committed towards the personal and professional growth of its people.

Striving Ahead: A Safer World for All

In this globalised and interconnected world, increasing numbers of criminal groups are organised internationally and commit transnational crimes across nation-state boundaries. Undoubtedly, cases of such magnitude demand close cooperation and coordination amongst police forces around the world. Moving ahead, SPF hopes to champion the cause of enhancing the international police network to ensure a
safer world for all. With the expansion of SPF’s role in the international arena, SPF will encourage frequent exchange of information and best practices as well as foster increased interactions between regional police organisations.

In the past year, SPF’s contributions to international policing have been both wide-ranging and at multiple levels. As Vice-President for Asia in the INTERPOL Executive Committee and the Chairman of its Strategic Development Sub-committee, I was privileged to have been involved in charting the direction and priorities for the world’s largest organisation of police agencies. In 2007, as Chairman for the ASEAN Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL), I witnessed several initiatives aimed at enhancing cooperation in the region, including the launch of the electronic ASEAN Database Systems (e-ADS) and its links to INTERPOL database.

As an organisation, we are committed to sharing our expertise and experience with other police forces, so that collectively, we can form a strong, united force in the fight against international crime and terrorism.
For example, operationally, we have been supporting the UN Mission in Timor Leste and Nepal for the past two years. We also conduct regular courses for our foreign counterparts. In January 2008, we hosted the inaugural INTERPOL Asian Organised Crime (AOC) Conference, which brought together experts from around the world to discuss and share the latest trends and strategies to combat the growing threat of AOC.

Conclusion

As Singapore undergoes a transformation to become an increasingly cosmopolitan and vibrant global city, many trends and forces will alter the environment in which SPF operates. With the addition of the integrated resorts to our national landscape, the growing prominence of Singapore as a hub for large-scale events like the 2008 FORMULA 1™ SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, the APEC Summit in 2009 and the Youth Olympic Games in 2010, the rising popularity of new media and the ever-present threat of global terrorism, we can expect a greater degree of complexity and uncertainty in maintaining social cohesion and preserving safety and security in Singapore in the years to come.

All these imply that while we have done well in meeting the demands of policing in the present, we must constantly rethink and reinvent our operational approach so as to be one step ahead of the criminals and terrorists. This will imply the need to better understand and keep abreast of changes in the world in which we live and operate. This also entails the need to leverage on the latest technological advancements to develop our operational capabilities. Finally, this requires an SPF that is staffed with officers who are resolute and unwavering in the face of adversity and uncertainty.

The other great challenge in today’s complexity is to continuously transform SPF and ensure its agility and nimbleness to survive a “Black Swan” event and come out stronger and wiser. One way is to focus on what we do not know, rather than naively trying to predict something as unpredictable as Black Swans. By having a general idea of what we do not know and scanning the horizon for weak signals of unusual occurrences, we can reduce the surprise effect of “Black Swans”. Another way is to continuously develop all personnel
to be thinking officers, entrusted with the responsibility of making decentralised operational decisions. As it is impossible for SOPs to cover every possible scenario, the underlying principles of our SOPs will guide our thinking officers to make the most appropriate decisions to react to unexpected events.

2007 was a good year for the SPF and we stand ready, bracing ourselves for the unexpected. If a Black Swan should come our way, we are confident we will not only survive but will persevere and thrive. We
shall be a police force that will be nothing less than A Force for the Nation, One that Inspires the World.