SINGAPORE
POLICE FORCE
(Police Comparative System)
Submitted by:
Lasao, Hanna Kristel C.
(BsCrim 4-Bravo)
Submitted to:
Mr. Andres
HISTORY
Is the Republic's main police agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the
island city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police (RSP; Malay: Polis
Repablik Singapura), it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong
force. Singapore has been ranked consistently in the top five positions in the Global
Competitiveness Report in terms of its reliability of police services.
The organisational structure of the SPF is split between the staff and line functions,
roughly modelled after the military. There are currently 14 staff departments, 3 specialist
staff departments and 15 specialist and line units (including 6 Land Divisions). The
headquarters is located in a block at New Phoenix Park in Novena, adjacent to a twin block
occupied by the Ministry of Home Affairs
The Singapore Police Force has a heritage almost as old as that of modern
Singapore, having been formed in 1819 with a skeleton force of 11 men under the
command of Francis James Bernard, son-in-law of William Farquhar, and kept in operation
with a monthly budget of $300. Manpower constraints meant that the men had to perform a
wide range of roles, and required the help of headmen amongst the various ethnic
communities to maintain orderliness on the streets, all the more possible as the
communities lived in segregated areas around the city.
This partnership with the community was in line with Sir Stamford Raffles' vision
of a thriving colony largely self-regulated by local social structures, with the British
masters administrating it via indirect rule. The large influx of migrants from China,
however, began to test this system when the hands-off approach by the British
allowed secret societies in Singapore to thrive. Although originally formed with legal
intentions of community bonding and the provision of assistance to fellow migrants, these
societies gradually became influential, competitive, and increasingly engaged in illegal
activity including monetary extortion from the masses, the operation of gambling dens, and
the smuggling of illegal goods on top of more legal commercial operations to meet their
financial needs.
Headed by Europeans and predominantly staffed by Malay and Indian officers, the
force had little Chinese representation as the military and policing professionals were
traditionally shunned by the Chinese community, which therefore impaired policing efforts
amongst the large Chinese populace. In 1843, the force comprised a
sitting magistrate doubling up as a superintendent, three European constables and an
assistant native constable, 14 officers and 110 policemen. With a total strength of no more
than 150 men, the police was compelled to avoid direct intervention in these mass acts of
violence, else risking almost total annihilation.
A repeat of this scenario occurred in 1851, when lingering displeasure
against Roman Catholic ethnic Chinese erupted into major rioting leaving over 500 Chinese
dead. The army was called in again, although it involved having to induct Indian convicts
into military service almost overnight. In 1854, twelve consecutive days of violence
sparked by a dispute between the Hokkiens and Teochews disrupted trade. This particular
incident led to the formation of the military's Singapore Rifle Corps on 8 July 1854, the
earliest predecessor of the Singapore Armed Forces' People's Defence Force today.
Criminal violence was not merely in the domain of the ethnic Chinese, however.
Rivalries between Malay princes and communities also often result in acts of violence,
which prompted the passing of Singapore's first arms law in March 1823 restricting the
right to bear arms to 24 of the Malay Sultan's followers. Nearly two centuries later, these
anti-arms laws continue to be strictly enforced, resulting in a society relatively free from
firearms-related criminal offences.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE
Auxiliary Police Forces
A Certis CISCO auxiliary police officer stands guard beside an armoured truck at Change
Alley, Singapore.
In Singapore, auxiliary police officers are security police appointed under Section 92(1) or
(2) of the Police Force Act 2004 and are vested with all the power, protection and
immunities of a Police Officer of corresponding rank and are licensed to carry firearms
when carrying out their duties.
These armed auxiliary police officers (APO) are full-time paid employees of their
respective companies, and are not directly affiliated to the Singapore Police Force. They are
appointed as auxiliary police officers only after attending and passing a residential course,
the curriculum of which is set by the Security Industry Regulatory Dept. of the Singapore
Police Force. Each APO is issued with a warrant card signed by the Commissioner Of
Police of the Singapore Police Force.
Aetos Security Management Private Limited (CIAS / PSA / ST Kinetics)
Certis CISCO Security Private Limited - The oldest and largest auxiliary.
Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) Auxiliary Police Force
There were also other auxiliary police forces in Singapore in the early years such as PSA
Police, and Bukom Auxiliary Police. These APF were granted licences and powers under
the Police Force Act to operate only in restricted geographical areas e.g. in the ports or
airports or Pulau Bukom Island.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) established the Security Industry Regulatory Department
in 2004 to regulate the security industry.
More recently, due to the shortage of officers from the SPF the role of auxiliary police
forces have been expanded to enforcement, attending to road related incidents such as
collision scenes and conducting patrol duties. Even at times working alongside the
Singapore Police Force themselves.
Ranks
A standard rank structure is used throughout the police force, although some ranks
may be unique to specific organisations. These ranks are denoted where applicable in the
following list, which lists them in ascending seniority:
The rank of Corporal was abolished in 1972, but reinstated in 1976. In 1997, all
ranks were shifted from the sleeves to the epaulettes, except for the Gurkha Contingent.
Also in the same year, the Station Inspector rank was changed from collar pips to epaulettes
with a new design similar to that of the SAF Warrant Officers, and the rank of Senior
Station Inspector was introduced. In 1998, the Senior Station Inspector (2) rank was
introduced, and changes were made to the SI, SSI, and SSI(2) rank designs. The rank of
Lance Corporal was abolished in 2002. The 2006, the Gurkha Contingent adopted
embroidered ranks as part of an overhaul of its combat dress, but are worn on the right front
pocket. There was a major rank overhaul in 2016 with the removal of the ranks of CPL,
SSGT, SSI and SSI(2), as well as the removal of the distinction between "Police Officers"
and "Senior Police Officers" in what is now called a "unified police scheme
UNIFORMS
Dark blue (or more accurately Dacron blue) is the organisational colour of the
Singapore Police Force, and has remained so continuously since 1969, although the first
police uniforms introduced in 1856 were also in the same colour.
On 1 July 1969, dacron blue made a comeback to the uniform with a force-wide
change away from khaki overnight, in part to coincide with Singapore's 150th anniversary
since its founding in 1819. The new uniform comprises a dark blue peak cap, shirt, trousers,
black belt, shoes and socks, and coded whistle lanyard in blue and white. 3 large and 4
small metal buttons, metal collar badges, and a metal cap badge are affixed, and a black
plastic name tag completes the uniform. Metallic ranks, if any, are fixed to the sleeve or on
the shoulders for senior officers. The lanyard was changed to a metal chain in 1972, and in
1985, the material of the uniform was changed from 75% polyester 25% cotton to 100%
polyester for ease of daily maintenance.
Police national servicemen
While national service was introduced in 1967 in Singapore, it was solely geared
towards the building up of the Singapore Armed Forces. There was little urgency in the
police force to increase its manpower strength until the Laju incident in 1974 demonstrated
the need for additional trained reserve officers who can be called up at short notice in the
event of an emergency. National service was thus extended to the Singapore Police Force in
1975, with the primary aim of guarding key installations and to act as a reserve unit.
Subsequent expansion of the scheme, changing security needs, and the trend in outsourcing
installation protection (such as to the Auxiliary Police Forces) has expanded their role to
more functions, which may range from administration, investigation to front-line policing
alongside their regular counterparts.
Finances
The Singapore Police Force receives the highest budget allocation annually as
compared to the various departments of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), typically
accounting for about 50% of its annual budget. For the fiscal year of 2013 (for the year
beginning 1 April 2013), S$3.89 billion was budgeted to the MHA, of which 47.8%, or
S$1.86 billion was allocated for the Police Programme. Actual expenses in the 2013 fiscal
year was S$2.04 billion, of which S$1.88 billion was spent on operating expenditure
(against the budgeted S$1.79 billion) and S$159.1 million on development expenditure
(budgeted at $71.83 million).Manpower costs amounting to S$1.16 billion continue to
dominate the SPF's expenditure, accounting for 61.7% of its operating expenditure and
56.9% of total expenditure in FY2013.
