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Singapore Organization, Recruitment, and Training of Police
In 1989 Singapore's police force had 7,000 constables
and
inspectors, 3,000 national service conscripts, and 2,000
volunteers. The commissioner of police was responsible for
law
enforcement in all civil jurisdictions of the country. He
was
assisted by deputy commissioners for administration, civil
defense,
operations, and planning
(see
fig. 16). Two auxiliary
police
organizations employed an additional 2,300 persons trained
to
provide security for the Port of Singapore and private
businesses.
The Port of Singapore police with 300 personnel in 1989,
was
delegated responsibility for maintaining law and order on
the
docks, checking cargo manifests, and inspecting vessels
that were
suspected of having contraband. The other auxiliary police
force
was the Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation,
which was
operated as a public service under the control of the
minister for
home affairs. The corporation was established in 1972 to
relieve
regular police from routine security and escort duties for
private
businesses. The 2,000 security personnel employed by the
corporation were delegated the same powers and immunities
as police
officers in the course of their duties. The Commercial and
Industrial Security Corporation was the only civilian
security
organization whose personnel were authorized to carry
firearms.
The deputy commissioner for operations of the police
force was
responsible for overseeing two commands and four
departments. The
main island was divided into ten police divisions, which,
along
with the airport police division, came under the Area
Command. The
one other command, known as the Detachments Command,
comprised
police units responsible for counterterrorism, crowd
management,
protection of government officials, and the marine police.
Two
police task forces, with probably fewer than 200 specially
trained
officers, had replaced the police reserve units of the
1960s.
Counterterrorist operations most likely would be conducted
by elite
units belonging to one of the task forces in coordination
with army
commandos and other units taken from the police and armed
forces.
A 700-member Gurkha unit was responsible for prison
security and
for supporting the police task force in the event that a
civil
disturbance got out of control. The British-trained
Gurkhas,
recruited in Nepal, had been employed by the police since
1949. The
four departments under the control of the deputry
commissioner for
operations had jurisdiction over crime prevention,
criminal
investigation, traffic control, and the special
constabulary, which
included an estimated 2,000 volunteer constables who were
trained
to assist the regular police in patrolling residential
neighborhoods.
The three other deputy commissioners were responsible
for
administration, planning, and civil defense. The deputy
commissioner for administration managed recruitment,
training, and
logistics and was responsible for the National Police
Cadet Corps,
a student organization that in the late 1980s had more
than 20,000
members and units in 129 secondary schools located
throughout
Singapore. The deputy commissioner for planning was
responsible for
research and force development and proposed plans for the
purchase
of state-of-the-art equipment and the introduction of new
law
enforcement tactics to improve the efficiency of the
police force.
The deputy commissioner for civil defense was in charge of
civil
defense planning and civil defense organizations
(see Civil Defense
, this ch.).
Police personnel primarily were recruited from among
high
school graduates who were interested in law enforcement as
a
career. The professional force was augmented, as
necessary, with
national service conscripts and volunteers. In 1989 women
comprised
15 percent of the force and were employed in all
occupational
fields. The high number of students interested in
belonging to the
National Police Cadet Corps provided the police with a
large pool
of potential recruits. Police recruits were required to be
high
school graduates without a criminal record and to be in
excellent
physical condition. Officers selected for promotion to
senior
grades had to be approved by the Public Service
Commission. There
were ten senior-grade levels: inspector, four grades of
superintendents, and five grades of commissioners. Basic
and
advanced training for recruits and national service
conscripts was
provided at the Police Academy. Selected officers were
awarded
scholarships to attend local universities and to take
courses in
other countries. The six-month basic course for recruits
emphasized
legal procedures, police station and field operations, use
of
weapons, dealing with the public, and physical fitness.
National
service conscripts were given a three-month basic course,
but with
less emphasis on legal procedures. Most divisions of the
areas and
detachments commands selected from within to fill vacant
billets
for corporals, sergeants, and higher level positions.
Officers were
encouraged to enroll in career development courses that
were
devoted to such subjects as crisis management, community
relations,
crime investigation, and interrogation techniques.
Exceptional
junior officers received merit scholarships to the
National
University of Singapore to study management and other
disciplines
needed by the force. Senior officers were required to
travel
overseas for training to broaden their understanding of
law
enforcement practices in other countries. Some of the
foreign
schools attended were the Police Staff College in Britain,
the
Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy in the
United
States, and the Police Academy in Japan.
Data as of December 1989
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