COMMUNITY POLICING in the CONTEXT of SINGAPORE Jarmal
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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56 COMMUNITY POLICING IN THE CONTEXT OF SINGAPORE Jarmal Singh* I. INTRODUCTION of a community-based policing strategy through the Neighbourhood Police Post Singapore has grown in many ways over (NPP) system in 1983 and the shift towards the last 40 years to become a city-state that community-focused policing through the enjoys a high level of economic growth, creation of Neighbourhood Police Centres political stability and most importantly, a (NPCs) in 1997. sense of safety and security. It was not a smooth journey, as the country experienced Prior to 1983, policing strategies were its turbulent periods in the 1950s and the reactive in nature. Police services were 1960s, characterised by problems of dispensed centrally, mainly through the 8 political instability, communist insurgency, police stations existing at the time. Each secret societies, unemployment and police station served a very large area and communal riots. these areas were patrolled by cars. Impacted by urbanisation, social and Today, Singapore’s crime rate is low by economic transformations, the police were international standards and has declined faced with rising crime and a loss of public successively for 9 years from 1989 till 1997. contact and support. The SPF then Crime rate has only edged up slightly by realised the importance of fostering closer 5.2% in 1998 when the entire South East police-community relations in an effort to Asia region plunged into financial and prevent crime. By re-orienting a patrol economic crisis. The rise was mostly strategy that was skewed towards the attributed to theft of handphones and cash motorised mode to one that was community cards, and immigration offences. oriented and emphasised foot patrol, it is felt that the police could create a Amidst the rapid modernisation of heightened sense of presence and visibility society, much of the transformation from to deter crimes. the old crime-ridden town to a safe city today can be attributed to the Singaporean The Neighbouhood Police Post (NPP) government’s tough stance towards system, adapted from the Japanese Koban criminals and criminality in the form of System, was introduced in 1983. Eight strict laws and heavy penalties. NPPs were set up as a pilot in a constituency, with a view to assess the Apart from the strict laws and rigorous impact and success of the system in enforcement, the improvement of the social Singapore’s environment. The trial was a and economic situation helped to control success. By 1993, the entire set of 91 NPPs crime. Over the past 15 years, the was set up throughout the island. This was Singapore Police Force (SPF) has made two accompanied by falling crime and increased significant innovations in the area of sense of safety and security amongst the policing in light of social and economic public. changes. The first being the introduction However, in view of rising expectations * Deputy Director Operations, Police Headquarters, of both the public and police officers, and Singapore Police Force, Republic of Singapore. the need to address new challenges arising 126 112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS from various developments, the police have and effects within the society. It actively now embarked on revamping the NPP seeks to mobilize the various sections of the system into the NPC system. The aim of community such as public organizations, this paper is to share the SPF’s experience private firms, governmental agencies and in its adoption of community policing as the the general population in crime principal policing strategy. In addition, the elimination, prevention and control. By NPP and NPC systems, which are the educating the community in these areas, operating structures to carry out this community policing hopes to reduce crime strategy, will be discussed. rates and at the same time, stimulate the society to self-poIice. II. CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY POLICING III. COMMUNITY POLICING VERSUS TRADITIONAL POLICING The basic premise of community policing is that the police and the members of the As opposed to the traditional reactive, public should work together to eliminate, legalistic crime fighting strategy, suppress and prevent crime in society. This community policing advocates a is an extension of the realisation that crime community-oriented policing strategy. It is a community problem created by societal is based on the assumption that the issues and failures, and not just a police problem of crime cannot be adequately met issue or an indication of its effectiveness. with law enforcement. Instead, it Police effectiveness and public order cannot emphasizes proactive policing tactics and be greatly enhanced unless the community the mobilization of the community in the can be persuaded to do more for itself. areas of crime elimination, prevention and detection. The key differences between Community policing seeks to inform and Community Policing and Traditional educate the public about crime, its causes Policing are as listed below. Traditional Policing Community Policing • Reactive to incidents. • Pro-active in solving community related problems. Discuss possible solutions with the community. • Roles of police officers are limited to incident • Roles of police officers are broadened to include response. identification and solving of problems. • Random patrols in cars to respond to crimes. • Visible patrols to interact with the community, i.e foot patrols, bicycle patrols, scooter patrols. • Focus on internal resources. • Leverage on community resources. Police work • Limited linkages with the commuity. with extensive co-operative links with the community. • Information from the community is limited. • Information from the community comes from many sources. • Supervision is control-oriented; authoritative • Decentralisation of authority and autonomy style or command and control style. given to front-line officers. • Rewards based on solving of cases. • Performance evaluation rewards based on service activities; crime prevention, satisfaction and sense of safety of the community. 127 RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56 IV. SPF’S ADOPTION OF THE The SPF could no longer simply rely on COMMUNITY POLICING the 8 divisional police stations for efficient STRATEGY and speedy service. There was a pressing need to develop a new, efficient response The key strategic driver for the SPF’s system that could cope with the changing adoption of the community-oriented operating environment and at the same policing model was to establish and time, offer opportunities for meaningful leverage community support for our own police-public interaction in a densely law enforcement policies and strategies in populated, urban environment. This the face of a changing operating spurred the SPF to develop the environment. The key changes in the decentralised system of the NPP to serve operating environment were as follows. the needs of the urban population better. A. Increasing Crime Trend (1974 to C. Rising Public Expectations 1983) Thirdly, the general population was Firstly, although the crime rate in increasingly affluent and educated. This Singapore was low by world standards, raised two challenges for the SPF. One was there was a disturbing trend of an overall to meet rising public expectations of the increase in all types of crime (except violent police service. The other was stiff property crimes) for the period 1974 to competition from the public and private 1983. Analysis revealed that 70% of such sectors for quality recruits. The nature and crimes were house-breaking, theft of prospects of police work was deemed by the vehicles, and robbery which could have younger generation as comparatively been prevented. The promotion of unappealing. Community-oriented community-oriented policing would help policing addressed these two challenges by the SPF to battle crime, as improved police- raising the quality of police services public relationships should result in a through attracting better quality officers higher level of crime prevention awareness seeking job challenge and satisfaction in and greater public co-operation with the the enhanced job scope. police. D. Learning From the Japanese B. Change in Population Koban System Distribution At this stage, the SPF was in search of a Secondly, the population distribution successful community policing model. This was changing. In the 1960s, before the was found in the form of the Japanese creation of the Housing Development Koban (or police post) system. In Japan, Board (HDB), the bulk of Singapore’s the high crime clearance rate of 60% was population was concentrated in the centre due to the trust and co-operation that the of the city. However, as a result of the HDB public had with the police. Statistics also success in providing low cost public indicated that 80% of the Japanese public housing, about 84% of Singapore’s readily provided information to help the population shifted from the city area to new police arrest offenders. The desire to learn towns and estates all over the island. from the Japanese experience and to These new public housing estates emulate the success of the Koben system comprised mainly of high rise buildings and led to the institutionalisation of community these lessened the opportunities for the policing as the new policing strategy and public to interact with the police. philosophy of the SPF. 128 112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS V. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICE in the community. The area of coverage of POST (NPP) SYSTEM each NPP is based largely on the political boundaries. The average population A. Study Team covered by each NPP is about 35,000. In November 1981, a team of Japanese experts was invited to help implement the Being the most familiar police contacts, Koban System in Singapore. The Koban the NPPs have been located where their system was to be adapted for use in the services will be demanded most. Factors Singaporean environment, with varying such as the number of households and social settings and attitudes of the population are taken into consideration in populace.