Planning And Organisation Department
By ASP Loh Wee Lee

KEY HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN FY 2006
The Planning and Organisation Department ensures that SPF remains forward-looking, globally connected, efficient in the use of resources, and focused on excellence.

The approach of P&O is to strategise for the future and to conceive substantive methods to realise these plans. In response to the complex and multi-dimensional real-world challenges that we face, P&O has worked together with SPF to utilise sophisticated tools that can perform the necessary analysis to enable the organisation to thrive.

Thinking Ahead

In order to enhance the level of strategic thinking within SPF, P&O introduced the concept of ‘SWAT’ teams. This involved groups of officers selected from various departments and divisions coming together for short and intense periods of engagement to generate ideas, which were then rapidly prototyped.

The Specialised Crime Division (SCD) of CID was successfully reorganised and deployment was optimised to enable efficient utilisation of strategic reserves in SPF. This attested to the effectiveness of the ‘SWAT’ teams in helping SPF develop an engine of strategic thought, which would help it to meet future challenges.

Connected to the World

We have continued to raise the international profile of SPF. Closer ties with foreign partners were established when SPF signed an arrangement with the Korean National Police Agency on Combating Transnational Crime and Developing Police Co-operation, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dubai Police Force and the Korea Coast Guard.

In FY 2007, SPF participated in 91 overseas conferences and conducted 45 overseas study visits. These trips enabled our officers to hone their policing skills and strengthen our units’ operational capabilities. In addition, SPF hosted the inaugural INTERPOL Global Conference on Asian Organised Crime in Singapore. Commissioner of Police, Mr Khoo Boon Hui, in his position as INTERPOL Vice-President for Asia, chaired the 20th INTERPOL Asian Regional Conference in Hong Kong. SPF also successfully hosted ASEANAPOL 2007 – the annual meeting of chiefs of police from ASEAN countries.

We also ensured that SPF was successful in its bid to host the 78th INTERPOL General Assembly, which will see more than 500 delegates from up to 186 INTERPOL member countries coming to Singapore in 2009.

Maximising Returns, Optimising Resources

Through effective and innovative resource management tools like the Quarter-to-Quarter (Q2Q) planning, risk management and portfolio management frameworks, P&O enabled SPF to stretch its budget and still achieve its goals. The focus for SPF’s FY 2007 budget was on its people and the additional $100.5 million invested in manpower expenditure clearly demonstrated this.

On the manpower front, we were able to develop new capabilities and enhance capacity by securing 63 new posts and reallocating 62 posts within SPF, despite strict headcount control policies.

In FY 2007, P&O embarked on a rigorous job grading exercise for all uniformed and civilian schemes of service with the aim of providing better career progression. This exercise was also fuelled by the need to map jobs and job grades to the appropriate ranks more accurately. This was in view of the increasingly complex operating environment and expanding job responsibilities. Our plans to augment the job grades for Senior Officers were also approved.

Promoting Organisational Excellence

On 12 May 2007, we witnessed the successful organisation of the annual Police Workplan Seminar (WPS), which saw SPF engaging the community to discuss work plans and construct joint strategies. WPS 2007 also marked the first time in which discussion sessions with our strategic partners were held after office hours, so as to encourage greater participation from the community. The response was encouraging, with more than 400 community representatives attending the sessions.

SQA with Special Commendation

P&O is proud of SPF’s achievement of the Singapore Quality Award (SQA) with Special Commendation – the pinnacle award for business excellence conferred by SPRING Singapore. The Award was presented to former SQA winners such as SPF, for scaling greater heights in business excellence and demonstrating global leadership in key business areas.

SPF also achieved re-certification of its Singapore Service Class and Singapore Innovation Class and People Developer Standards under a single integrated assessment in January 2008, which showed a marked improvement in the scores across all three niche standards, as compared to previous assessments.

New Peaks of Distinction in FY 2008

Moving forward, P&O will continue efforts to ensure that SPF stays relevant, resolute and resilient in the midst of an evolving environment.

We will embark on a review of the Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) System to better suit our operational needs. To position SPF to deal with an increasingly complex environment, P&O will develop new platforms to operationalise SPF’s Business Excellence Framework and explore the applications of Hastily Formed Networks (HFN).

Looking beyond our shores, we aspire to steer SPF to the forefront of international policing and to take on a greater global leadership in the fight against transnational crime and terrorism.