Singapore Police Force

Singapore Police Force
Polis Repablik Singapura (Malay)
新加坡警察部队 (Chinese)
சிங்கப்பூர் காவல் துறை (Tamil)
Badge of the Singapore Police Force
Badge of the Singapore Police Force
AbbreviationSPF
MottoSetia dan Bakti
(Loyalty and Service)
Agency overview
Formed24 May 1820 (1820-05-24)[1]
Legal personalityPolice force
Jurisdictional structure
National agencySingapore
Operations jurisdictionSingapore
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters28 Irrawaddy Road,
New Phoenix Park,
Singapore 329560
Active personnels9,571 regulars
4,685 conscripts
1,135 civilian volunteers
Reserve officers26,459 reservists
1,266 civilian volunteers
Elected officers responsible
Agency executives
Parent agencyMinistry of Home Affairs
Staff departments
21
  • Commercial Affairs Department
  • Criminal Investigation Department
  • Ops-Tech Department
  • Police Intelligence Department
  • Police Psychological Services Department
  • Administration and Finance Department
  • Centre of Protective Security
  • Community Partnership Department
  • Inspectorate and Compliance Office
  • Internal Affairs Office
  • International Cooperation Department
  • Manpower Department
  • Operations Department
  • Planning and Organisation Department
  • Police Licensing and Regulatory Department
  • Police Logistics Department
  • Police National Service Department
  • Public Affairs Department
  • Service Delivery Department
  • Training & Capability Development Department
  • Volunteer Special Constabulary
Specialist and line units
Facilities
NPCs/NPPs97
Police boats61
Website
police.gov.sg

1°19′27.56″N 103°50′43.24″E / 1.3243222°N 103.8453444°E / 1.3243222; 103.8453444 The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; human and weapons trafficking; cyber crime; as well as economic crimes that goes across domestic and international borders, but can be tasked to investigate any crime under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and is accountable to the Parliament of Singapore.[2]

SPF's main geographical area of responsibilities covers the entire country, consisting of five regions which are further divided into 55 planning areas. The organisation has various staff departments with specific focuses. These include the Airport Police Division (APD), which covers policing of Singapore's main civilian airports of Changi and Seletar, or the Police Coast Guard (PCG), which protects and enforces areas under Singapore's territorial waters and its ports.

Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police (RSP), the SPF is a uniformed organisation. The SPF has declared its mission and vision as to "prevent, deter and detect crime to ensure the safety and security of Singapore".[3] It is Singapore's point of contact for foreign agencies such as Interpol and other international law enforcement agencies. The organisational structure of the SPF is split between staff and line functions, which is roughly modelled after the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

The SPF currently consists of sixteen staff departments, four specialist staff departments, eighteen specialist and line units as well as seven land divisions. Its headquarters are located at one of the blocks of the New Phoenix Park building in the Novena district, which is located directly adjacent to a twin block occupied by the MHA.[4] Situated within the headquarters are the Police Heritage Centre (PHC), which is open to the public and showcases the SPF's history through its various exhibits and multimedia displays.[5]

As of 2020, the SPF has a strength of approximately 10,706 personnel: 9,571 sworn officers and 1,135 civilian staff. The SPF has generally been credited as being the forefront in keeping crime in Singapore low, as well as being relatively transparent in its policing.[6] Accordingly, Singapore has been considered as being one of least corrupt and most safe countries in the world.[7][8] The SPF also works closely with the Internal Security Department (ISD) and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). As of 2022, the current Minister of Home Affairs is K Shanmugam, while the current commissioner of the SPF is Hoong Wee Teck.[9]

  1. ^ "Our History". Singapore Police Force. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Singapore PUBLIC ORDER AND INTERNAL SECURITY – Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System". Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2008. The Police Force Act, Chapter 235 of Singapore provides for the constitution, administration, powers and discipline of the force.
  3. ^ "Mission and Vision". Singapore Police Force. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  4. ^ "New Phoenix Park". Ministry of Home Affairs. Year 2001. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. ^ "POLICE HERITAGE CENTRE".
  6. ^ Quah, Jon S.T. (10 July 2017). "Singapore's success in combating corruption: lessons for policy makers". Asian Education and Development Studies. 6 (3): 263–274. doi:10.1108/AEDS-03-2017-0030. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  7. ^ Gilchrist, Karen (24 August 2021). "Copenhagen, Toronto, Singapore world's safest cities – CNBC". CNBC. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  8. ^ "2021 Corruption Perceptions Index – Explore the results". Transparency.org. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference OCP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).