Debated in Parliament on 14 Apr 2014.
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is being done to attract more people to join the Police Force; (b) how is the shortage of Police officers impacting on policing in the heartlands housing estates; and (c) whether the Police actively recruit volunteers to augment its manpower needs.
In order to attract and retain good officers, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) has to ensure that a policing career offers attractive value propositions – the job is meaningful and purposeful, its terms and conditions are competitive and career development prospects are good.
Over the past 10 years, the Police Force has grown from about 9,000 officers to about 10,300 officers, an increase of about 15%. This number includes uniformed officers, civilian specialists and civilians.
In terms of Police Officers, SPF has seen an increase of 10% in its uniformed staff strength over the same period, from 8,010 to 8,780. SPF has recruited an annual average of 480 Police Officers in the past three years and its establishment is currently 96% filled.
Recruitment is not only to fill vacancies arising from retirements and resignations but also to meet new requirements such as the Community Policing System and Traffic Police resources under the Safer Roads Singapore initiative. Besides school leavers from our Polytechnics and Universities, SPF also reaches out to mid-career persons and Police National Servicemen.
Page: 110
The Community Policing System (COPS) is a key SPF policing strategy. SPF will recruit an additional 450 officers for COPS. The officers will be deployed across all Neighbourhood Police Centres (NPCs) to tackle local crime concerns and enhance community engagement. This will boost overall staff in the NPCs by 16%, compared to May 2012 before COPS was launched. Each of the 35 NPCs will, on average, see an increase of 13 more officers once COPS is fully rolled out by end-2015.
Police has an active volunteer scheme with 767 Volunteer Special Constabulary officers or VSCs. VSCs are vested with police powers, don the police uniform and work alongside regulars in anti-crime patrols and operations. They undergo rigorous training and serve, on average, 40 hours a month. Police also has 3,688 full-time National Servicemen who perform important roles alongside regular officers, such as patrolling our public transport system and performing frontline duties at NPCs and Police Coast Guard. In addition, 25,133 Police NSmen supplement our regular officers when they are called up for duties, for example during national events.
SPF also actively forges close partnerships with the community. It engages volunteers and residents through the Safety and Security Watch Groups, Neighbourhood Watch Groups and Citizens-on-Patrol groups in our local communities. Our volunteers and partners complement regular policing resources. They do not replace trained Police manpower. We will continue to work with partners and volunteers to build even stronger community partnerships.
PAPERCUTS