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Singapore Civil Defense
In 1964, as a response to Confrontation, the government
established the Vigilante Corps to assist police by
patrolling
communities and reporting suspicious activities. The Corps
gradually evolved into the nation's first civil defense
force.
Initially comprised entirely of volunteers, members were
given some
weapons training and instruction in general police
procedures. A
Police National Service Command was established in 1967 to
train
and organize conscripts assigned to perform police duties
in either
the Special Constabulary or the Vigilante Corps. At that
time, the
Corps had approximately 12,500 volunteers. In the 1970s,
most new
members of the Vigilante Corps were conscripts who
assisted police
in their home communities at nighttime, on weekends, and
during
emergencies.
In 1981 the Vigilante Corps was disbanded, and its
members were
assigned to units of the newly established Civil Defence
Force
(see
fig. 17). The Force's division headquarters were set up in
each of
the police divisions under the Area Command. Numerous
local civil
defense units were organized and were assigned
responsibility for
such specialized duties as blood collection, food and
water
distribution, and providing shelter to the homeless. In
1989 about
40,000 national servicemen reservists and 18,000 civilian
volunteers served in the Civil Defence Force.
The deputy commissioner of police for civil defense was
the
government official responsible for all military and
civilian civil
defense units. In 1989 he controlled ten division-level
organizations, which were subdivided into districts and
zones. Each
division headquarters was assigned a small staff of
regular army
officers who were responsible for coordinating civilian
and
military cooperation within the district during an
emergency and
for training national servicemen for civil defense
assignments.
Between 1981 and 1989, more than 7,000 conscripts were
trained in
various construction skills and assigned to construction
brigades
subordinate to the civil defense division headquarters. In
emergencies, construction brigades would be deployed to
damaged and
destroyed buildings to clear debris and to construct
temporary
shelters for residents. Reservists also were assigned to
rescue
battalions, shelter battalions, and medical units
subordinate to
each division headquarters.
In 1989 civil defense organizations below the division
level
were in various stages of development. Each of Singapore's
fiftyfive electoral districts had a Civil Defense Coordinating
Committee. The government enlisted members of Parliament
and other
community leaders to serve on these committees in order to
promote
civil defense programs. Local civil defense units were
established
in residential neighborhoods and at some businesses. Nine
underground mass rapid transit stations also served as
blast-proof
shelters for up to 100,000 people. The government
frequently
organized civil defense exercises in selected
jurisdictions, and in
1989 the installation of a sophisticated electronic
blackout and
civil defense warning system was under study.
* * *
Three books provide in-depth coverage of the evolution
of the
armed, police, and civil defense forces since 1965. The
Singapore Armed Forces, published by the Ministry of
Defence
covers, all aspects of military life and includes useful
information on the types of military equipment used by the
army,
navy, and air force. In the Service of the Nation
by John
Drysdale is a good reference on police organization and
training
but does not adequately inform the reader about the
criminal
activities that are most common in the society. Civil
Defence in
Singapore, published by the Civil Defence Force,
presents an
overview of civil defense organizations past and present
and
explains how military and civil defense units would
function during
wartime or a national emergency. Two books on the
development of
armed forces and defense spending in Asian countries
include
discussions on Singapore. The Armed Forces in
Contemporary Asian
Societies, edited by Edward A. Olsen and Stephen
Jurika, Jr.,
includes a chapter by Patrick M. Mayerchak an the
evolution of the
armed forces and strategic planning, and Chih Kin Wah's.
Defence
Spending in Southeast Asia, discusses how changing
perceptions
of potential adversaries and domestic economic
considerations
affect the amount of money the government budgets for
defense. A
number of articles on Singapore's armed forces have been
published
in recent years in military journals, and Singapore also
publishes
its own defense magazine. Asian Defence Journal
probably
provides the best overall reporting on current
developments in the
armed forces and Singapore's military relations with other
countries. Pacific Defence Reporter and Far
Eastern
Economic Review are also good sources for current
information
on military subjects. Pioneer, a monthly news
magazine on
the armed forces, published by the Ministry of Defence,
has useful
articles on military organization, weapons, logistics,
mobilization
policies, civil defense, and other subjects. Human rights
and
internal security issues are covered yearly in reports to
the
United States Congress by the Department of State titled
Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices and in Amnesty
International Report, which is also published
annually.
Statistics on crime can be found in International Crime
Statistics, which includes coverage of Singapore.
Occasional
articles on crime and the criminal justice system in
Singapore can
be found in Far Eastern Economic Review and
Asiaweek.
(For further information and complete citations,
see
Bibliography.)
Data as of December 1989
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