RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56

COMMUNITY POLICING IN THE CONTEXT OF SINGAPORE
Jarmal Singh*
I. INTRODUCTION
Singapore has grown in many ways overthe last 40 years to become a city-state thatenjoys a high level of economic growth,
political stability and most importantly, a
sense of safety and security. It was not asmooth journey, as the country experienced
its turbulent periods in the 1950s and the1960s, characterised by problems ofpolitical instability, communist insurgency,
secret societies, unemployment andcommunal riots.
Today, Singapore’s crime rate is low byinternational standards and has declined
successively for 9 years from 1989 till 1997.
Crime rate has only edged up slightly by
5.2% in 1998 when the entire South East
Asia region plunged into financial andeconomic crisis. The rise was mostly
attributed to theft of handphones and cash
cards, and immigration offences.
Amidst the rapid modernisation ofsociety, much of the transformation fromthe old crime-ridden town to a safe city
today can be attributed to the Singaporean
government’s tough stance towards
criminals and criminality in the form ofstrict laws and heavy penalties.
Apart from the strict laws and rigorous
enforcement, the improvement of the socialand economic situation helped to control
crime. Over the past 15 years, theSingapore Police Force (SPF) has made two
significant innovations in the area ofpolicing in light of social and economicchanges. The first being the introduction* Deputy Director Operations, Police Headquarters,
Singapore Police Force, Republic of Singapore.

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of a community-based policing strategy
through the Neighbourhood Police Post
(NPP) system in 1983 and the shift towards
community-focused policing through thecreation of Neighbourhood Police Centres(NPCs) in 1997.
Prior to 1983, policing strategies werereactive in nature. Police services weredispensed centrally, mainly through the 8
police stations existing at the time. Eachpolice station served a very large area andthese areas were patrolled by cars.
Impacted by urbanisation, social andeconomic transformations, the police were
faced with rising crime and a loss of publiccontact and support. The SPF thenrealised the importance of fostering closer
police-community relations in an effort toprevent crime. By re-orienting a patrol
strategy that was skewed towards the
motorised mode to one that was community
oriented and emphasised foot patrol, it isfelt that the police could create aheightened sense of presence and visibility
to deter crimes.
The Neighbouhood Police Post (NPP)
system, adapted from the Japanese Koban
System, was introduced in 1983. Eight
NPPs were set up as a pilot in aconstituency, with a view to assess theimpact and success of the system in
Singapore’s environment. The trial was a
success. By 1993, the entire set of 91 NPPs
was set up throughout the island. This was
accompanied by falling crime and increased
sense of safety and security amongst the
public.
However, in view of rising expectationsof both the public and police officers, andthe need to address new challenges arising

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
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from various developments, the police have
now embarked on revamping the NPP
system into the NPC system. The aim of
this paper is to share the SPF’s experiencein its adoption of community policing as theprincipal policing strategy. In addition, the
NPP and NPC systems, which are theoperating structures to carry out thisstrategy, will be discussed.
II. CONCEPT OF COMMUNITYPOLICING
The basic premise of community policing
is that the police and the members of the
public should work together to eliminate,suppress and prevent crime in society. Thisis an extension of the realisation that crime
is a community problem created by societal
issues and failures, and not just a police
issue or an indication of its effectiveness.
Police effectiveness and public order cannot
be greatly enhanced unless the community
can be persuaded to do more for itself.

and effects within the society. It actively
seeks to mobilize the various sections of thecommunity such as public organizations,private firms, governmental agencies andthe general population in crime
elimination, prevention and control. By
educating the community in these areas,
community policing hopes to reduce crime
rates and at the same time, stimulate thesociety to self-poIice.
III. COMMUNITY POLICINGVERSUS TRADITIONAL POLICING

Community policing seeks to inform andeducate the public about crime, its causes

As opposed to the traditional reactive,l e g a l i s t i c c r i m e f i g h t i n g s t r a t e g y,community policing advocates acommunity-oriented policing strategy. It
is based on the assumption that the
problem of crime cannot be adequately met
with law enforcement. Instead, itemphasizes proactive policing tactics andthe mobilization of the community in theareas of crime elimination, prevention anddetection. The key differences between
Community Policing and Traditional
Policing are as listed below.

Traditional Policing

Community Policing• Reactive to incidents.

• Pro-active in solving community related
problems. Discuss possible solutions with thecommunity.

• Roles of police officers are limited to incident
response.
• Random patrols in cars to respond to crimes.

• Roles of police officers are broadened to include
identification and solving of problems.

• Focus on internal resources.
• Limited linkages with the commuity.

• Leverage on community resources. Police workwith extensive co-operative links with thecommunity.

• Information from the community is limited.

• Information from the community comes frommany sources.

• Supervision is control-oriented; authoritative
style or command and control style.

• Decentralisation of authority and autonomy
given to front-line officers.

• Rewards based on solving of cases.

• Performance evaluation rewards based onservice activities; crime prevention, satisfaction
and sense of safety of the community.

• Visible patrols to interact with the community,
i.e foot patrols, bicycle patrols, scooter patrols.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56
IV. SPF’S ADOPTION OF THE
COMMUNITY POLICINGSTRATEGY
The key strategic driver for the SPF’s
adoption of the community-oriented
policing model was to establish andleverage community support for our own
law enforcement policies and strategies in
the face of a changing operating
environment. The key changes in theoperating environment were as follows.

The SPF could no longer simply rely on
the 8 divisional police stations for efficientand speedy service. There was a pressing
need to develop a new, efficient response
system that could cope with the changing
operating environment and at the sametime, offer opportunities for meaningfulpolice-public interaction in a densely
populated, urban environment. This
spurred the SPF to develop thedecentralised system of the NPP to serve
the needs of the urban population better.

A. Increasing Crime Trend (1974 to
1983)
Firstly, although the crime rate inSingapore was low by world standards,
there was a disturbing trend of an overall
increase in all types of crime (except violent
property crimes) for the period 1974 to
1983. Analysis revealed that 70% of suchcrimes were house-breaking, theft ofvehicles, and robbery which could havebeen prevented. The promotion ofcommunity-oriented policing would help
the SPF to battle crime, as improved policepublic relationships should result in ahigher level of crime prevention awarenessand greater public co-operation with thepolice.

C. Rising Public Expectations
Thirdly, the general population wasincreasingly affluent and educated. This
raised two challenges for the SPF. One wasto meet rising public expectations of thepolice service. The other was stiffcompetition from the public and private
sectors for quality recruits. The nature andprospects of police work was deemed by theyounger generation as comparatively
unappealing. Community-oriented
policing addressed these two challenges byraising the quality of police services
through attracting better quality officers
seeking job challenge and satisfaction in
the enhanced job scope.

B. Change in Population
Distribution
Secondly, the population distribution
was changing. In the 1960s, before thecreation of the Housing Development
Board (HDB), the bulk of Singapore’s
population was concentrated in the centreof the city. However, as a result of the HDB
success in providing low cost public
housing, about 84% of Singapore’s
population shifted from the city area to newtowns and estates all over the island.
These new public housing estatescomprised mainly of high rise buildings andthese lessened the opportunities for the
public to interact with the police.

D. Learning From the Japanese
Koban System
At this stage, the SPF was in search of a
successful community policing model. Thiswas found in the form of the Japanese
Koban (or police post) system. In Japan,
the high crime clearance rate of 60% was
due to the trust and co-operation that the
public had with the police. Statistics also
indicated that 80% of the Japanese public
readily provided information to help thepolice arrest offenders. The desire to learn
from the Japanese experience and toemulate the success of the Koben system
led to the institutionalisation of community
policing as the new policing strategy andphilosophy of the SPF.

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V. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICEPOST (NPP) SYSTEM
A. Study TeamIn November 1981, a team of Japaneseexperts was invited to help implement the
Koban System in Singapore. The Koban
system was to be adapted for use in the
Singaporean environment, with varying
social settings and attitudes of the
populace.
With the recommendation of the Study
Te a m t o e s t a b l i s h o n e N P P p e r
constituency, 8 NPPs were first establishedon 1 June 1983 in the 8 constituencies in
one police division. The second phase of
implementation began with the setting upof several NPPs in two other police
divisions. Positive public response to the
NPP system lead to the acceleration of the
final implementation phase ending in
December 1994. There are now 91 NPPs
throughout the island. One division was
merged with neighbouring divisions so that
manpower saved could be deployed to thefrontline, to meet the needs of the new
system.
B. Purpose of the NPP system
The NPP system was implemented in
Singapore with the following objectives:• To i m p r o v e p o l i c e - c o m m u n i t yrelations in Singapore;• To prevent and suppress crime
through the co-operation of andsupport from the community; and• To project a better police image andwin the confidence of the public in thepolice with more community-oriented
services.
C. Infrastructure / Location
NPPs are the most familiar police
contacts of the community within theirneighbourhood. They are kept small to bepersonal, but big enough to make an impact

in the community. The area of coverage ofeach NPP is based largely on the politicalboundaries. The average population
covered by each NPP is about 35,000.
Being the most familiar police contacts,
the NPPs have been located where theirservices will be demanded most. Factors
such as the number of households andpopulation are taken into consideration insetting up and locating NPPs, to reach out
to the widest possible section of the
population.
D. Oganisational Structure
A NPP is manned by a team of about 12
to 16 police officers who provide round-theclock service by working in 3 eight hour
shifts. The Deputy Officer-in-Charge (OC)of the NPP, is tasked to lead and manage
the NPPs with guidance and support
provided by the operations staff units inthe land division headquarters.
NPPs are also grouped in fives or sixes
and placed under the charge of an OC NPP
for better management and coordination
between the different shifts. This allows
for the transfer and movement of officers
among NPPs in the same group. Officers
in neighbouring NPPs supplement eachother through joint night patrols andcovering the duties of absent officers.
Flexible working hours and shift have also
been introduced in the NPP system.
E. NPP Function & Duties
The establishment of NPPs enables thesmooth execution and running of various
functions and activities. The key functionsof the NPPs, which ultimately must result
in better police-community relationships,
more arrests and effective crime
prevention, are as follows:• High profile police presence (or highvisibility patrols)• Provide efficient counter service

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56
•
•
•
•
•

Respond to incidents
House visits
Crime prevention
Community liaison
Security coverage/crowd control
dutiesbetween the residents and the NPP officers
not only improve police-community
relations, but also lead to increased public
co-operation and support for the SPF’s
efforts at preventing and suppressing
crimes in Singapore.

F. High Visibility Patrols
NPP officers are required to patrol in thearea under the jurisdiction of their NPP.
The officers conduct foot patrols, bicycle
patrols and scooter patrols so as to be able
to interact with the community andenhance their rapport with the residents.

J. Crime Prevention
The NPP also function as a crime
prevention centre where crime prevention
advice is given and where services such as
the engraving of names on personal
property is provided free for the residents.
To enhance the community’s awareness oncrime prevention, the NPP officers conduct
crime prevention exhibitions, school talks,crime risk surveys, as well as the
distribution of crime prevention pamphlets
and newsletters to the residents.

G. Counter Services
NPP officers provide a wide array ofcounter services in order to attract thecommunity to visit the NPP and thusincrease the opportunity of interaction withthe public. The counter services provided
by the NPP officers are:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Lodging of Police Reports
Traffic Accident Reports
Lost & Found Reports
Change of Address
Reporting of Deaths
Enquiry

H. Incident Response
NPP officers attend to non-urgent cases
only. Urgent cases are attended to by theFast Response Cars (FRC) from the Land
Divisional Headquarters. However, NPP
officers will still respond to urgent cases toassist the FRC officers.

K. Community Liaison
Before the NPP system was
implemented, there was no dedicatedofficer assigned to liaise with communityand grassroots organisations. With the
NPP system, NPP officers were assigned
to attend meetings of organisations in theirareas of jurisdiction and this improved
markedly the co-ordination and cooperation between the police and thecommunity organisations. The NPP
system also accelerated the formation of
Neighbourhood Watch Groups (NWG) for
residential areas and Crime Prevention
Committees for industrial estates andshopping complexes.
VI. RESULTS OF THE NPP SYSTEM

I. House Visits
NPP officers are also required to conduct
house visits to residents within theconstituency. The rationale of such house
visits is to enable the NPP officers todevelop rapport with the residents. These
House visits also help the residents to get
to know the NPP officers personally as wellas the services provided by them and the
NPP. The close rapport and interaction

130

The introduction of community policing
through the NPP system has certainly
brought revolutionary changes within therealm of policing. Firstly, it has changed
the SPF’s from a reactive or incident-driven
policing approach to a proactive approachthat attempts to prevent the possibility ofcrime before it can occur. The community
is now mobilised to play an important role

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
in crime prevention.
Another effect of the NPP system is thedecentralisation of police functions fromthe divisional level to neighbourhood level.
The police at the frontline are more
empowered with greater autonomy anddiscretion to discharge their duties. This
has expedited police response to crime
incidents and improved quality service.
The decentralisation principle has alsoenabled the police to penetrate deeper into
the society and thereby effectively pre-empt
criminogenic conditions. It is possible forthe police to tap valuable information about
the people and the conditions that are
causing criminality.
Community policing has shifted its
emphasis from car patrols to foot andbicycle patrolling. Together with house
visits, this has brought the police verymuch closer to the community. The
increased visibility of the police in theneighbourhoods has helped to deter crimes
and eliminate the general fear of crime insociety. This is also noted in the decreasing
crime rates each year.
With community policing, the public has
also become more aware of its role andresponsibility in crime prevention anddetection. The number of public-assistedarrests had steadily increased from 33.6%
in 1992 to 34.8% in 1993 and 36.1% in 1994.
That is about 1/3 of the total arrests made!
The close co-operation is not only reflectiveof the high level of public spiritedness but
also the evolving partnership between the
public and the police in crime busting. The
SPF has strengthened the trust of the
public in the police.
Two surveys conducted in 1987 and 1991
confirmed that:• NPPs have created more and closer

contact with the public;• NPP system has increased theconfidence of the general public in thepolice;• NPP system has had a positive
impact on the image of the police.
Community policing and the NPP
system has brought the police services tothe community, helped Singapore achievea low crime environment, and enabled
SPF’s to reach out to the public.
There is ample evidence that thecommunity policing strategy and the NPP
system in Singapore is a success. The 1996
Global Competitiveness Report ranks
Singapore the safest city in the world interms of its resident’s confidence that theirperson and property are protected.
VII. BUILDING ON THE
COMMUNITY POLICINGSTRATEGY
The NPP based system of community
policing has served the SPF well for 14
years from 1983 to 1997. In 1996, the SPF
initiated a review of its operational
strategy. The review was driven by therealisation that the future would not bebuilt through perfecting the past, no matter
how successful it had been. More
importantly, the SPF must ensure that thesuccess of the NPP system itself does not
become a limiting force that stifles growthand innovation in meeting new policing
challenges and public needs.
As the SPF enters the new millennium,
being the sole provider of policing services,
the organisation owes its fellow citizens tofurther improve the already low-crime
environment and strive to make Singapore
even safer than it already is. Policing must
be done smarter and more effectively than
before. It is also clear in the SPF’s vision
to become a strong service organisation by

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56
making continuous improvement to work
processes to meet rising public
expectations. At the same time, the SPF
wants to offer every officer within theorganisation a more enriching job scopeand experience that stretches the officer’s
abilities and helps maximise theirpotential.
Since the implementation of the NPP
system, the SPF has retained its
traditional, reactive policing capabilities(namely, fast response patrols andinvestigation teams) in its 7 land divisions.
Only the 91 NPPs that report to thesepolice divisions have evolved along thedirection of developing community-based
policing capabilities.
Community-based policing has also beenrefined incrementally over the past 14
years. One recent innovation is thedoctrine of ‘problem-solving’, under which
NPPs initiate the resolution of certain
community law and order problems thatarise from simple systemic causes. The
problem-solving approach makes
community policing more effective because
it is proactive and pools the wholecommunity together in a concerted effort
to ensure a safe, peaceful and cohesivesociety.
An example of a good problem-solvingcase is that by Hong Kah South NPP. The
NPP used to receive many complaints
about coffee-shop patrons consuming beer,
after midnight, even when the coffee-shops
in question were closed. Residents
complained about the incessant noise
pullution, littering, vandalism (often
vulgar words written on walls), urinatingin public places, and fighting. The coffeeshop patrons’ unruly behaviour caused
sleep deprivation to the residents, dirtied
the neighbourhood and created a sense of
public unease (especially to young ladies
returning home late at night). Aware that132

repeated one-off responses to such
incidents is not an operationally effective
solution to the problem, Hong Kah SouthNPP adopted the following solution.
A. Co-operation with Coffee-shop
OwnersMindful of the need to maintain good
rapport and act in partnership with
community resources to resolve local
community problems, Hong Kah SouthNPP officers sought the co-operation of theowners of the problematic coffee-shops in
the following areas:(1) Stop the sale of beer and start
preparations to close half-an-hour
before the end of the stipulated
licensing time, so that ample time isgiven to the patrons to finish theirdrinks.
(2) Stack up the chairs and chain themup, before closing the coffee-shop.
(3) Remove all empty bottles from thetables to prevent their use as
weapons.
B. Dialogue Sessions with Coffeeshop Owners
Based on the recommendation of Hong
Kah South NPP, regular dialogue sessions
with the coffee-shop owners are conductedat the Division Headquarters. Besides
crime prevention advice and police
recommendations, there is also sharing of
good practices between the coffee-shop
owners. This is effective in exerting peergroup pressure on the owners ofproblematic coffee-shops to follow the good
example set by their counterparts.
The above measures were successful incurbing the problem. Residents now enjoy
restful nights, the neighbourhood ispristine in appearance, and a sense of peaceand security prevails.

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
VIII. NEW OPERATINGENVIRONMENTThe SPF is expected to work in an
increasingly complex environment, withforces that affect community safety andsecurity arising from a multiplicity of
causes. These complex social ills arecharacterised by seemingly intractableproblems such as juvenile delinquency,
spousal violence, the link between
substance abuse and property crime, or thelaw and order problems posed by foreigners
working in Singapore.
The SPF’s traditional tool of effective
enforcement can no longer, by itself,
adequately address these challenges. The
doctrine of problem-solving, which istargeted at simple systemic causes, andanalysed and solved at the level of the NPP,
is also impotent in the face of higher-ordersocial dysfunction.
In addition, the SPF must continue tomeet the rising public expectations of its
service standards, as well as its ability toenhance safety and security. A recent
survey, commissioned by the Service
Improvement Unit (SIU), revealed that one
area where the SPF failed to provide highlevels of satisfaction, but which was highly
important to the public, was the ability ofthe police to help solve the problems thathave been brought to the attention of the
NPPs.
In October 1997, the SPF made anothersignificant and bold move to re-design the
NPP system in a bid to strengthen its
community policing approach, in light ofthe changing environment and factors. A
system that can carry the strengths of theprevious NPP system, like tapping on local
knowledge to solve crimes, and at the sametime can enable the SPF to grow andaddress key policing needs, ensures its
continued relevance. The Neighbourhood

Policing Centres (NPCs) system has beencreated to enhance the community policing
approach by:• Strengthening the SPF’s front-line
operating system;• Building a strong service
organisation;• Increasing community involvement
and responsibility for its own safety
and security; and• Optimising the value contributed byeach police officer to the policing
process.
IX. NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICECENTRESA. Changes to NPP System
In order to deliver decentralised, flexible,
integrated and community-focused
capabilities, the existing structure of land
divisions and NPPs will be modified. At
the centre of the new operating system is
the Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC).
The existing seven police land division will
be reconfigured into six policing regions.
Reporting to each of these regionalcommands will be the NPCs.
NPCs will be the sole vehicle for frontline policing to ensure the community’ssafety and security. In the redesigned
system, NPCs will be accountable for the
total outcome of policing in the community.
A short summary of the key differences
between the NPP system and the NPC
system is given in the below figure.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56
NPP System

NPC System• Community policing post with limited services• One-stop total policing centre provding the fullrange of policing services• Disparity in workload due to electoral based
boundaries• More efficient pooling of manpower resources
to serve the community• General services to attract residents andestablish points of contact• Focused on services that are critical to safety
and security• Low value tasks and narrow job scope• High value, board job challenge, better quality
officers• Compartmentalisation of services with many
officers each performing a separate task
• Lower priority on proactive work

• Integrated service process with one NPC officer
handling the entire service process• Community-based policing• Community-focused policing

B. One-Stop Total Policing Centre
Today, the areas policed by NPPs varysignificantly. Some NPPs have jurisdiction
over areas with 2,000 households, whileother NPPs serve up to 5,000 households.
NPCs will however serve areas of similar
residential population sizes.
On average, each NPC will serve about
100,000 residents. The size of each NPC
is kept to between 100-120 officers, withadministrative overheads, such as
personnel and logistical support borne by
the Regional Command Headquarters. It
also ensures that the NPCs are not so large
as to present a cold and impersonal image
to the public.
A total of 32 NPCs will be created by theyear 2001 to serve an indigenous
population of 3.2 million in Singapore.
NPCs, as centres of total policing, have avariety of policing options, ranging fromreactive patrols and investigations, to proactive policing activities. These 32 NPCs
islandwide will be supplemented by at least
another 66 NPPs, with each NPC
managing between 1 to 4 NPPs.
With the creation of NPCs, the current
91 NPPs would be re-distributed to achievea balance of easy accessibility to police134• Dedicated resources for proactive workcounter services for the public and an
optimal number of NPPs to be deployed in
the NPC system. The emergence of the
NPC as the sole vehicle for the provision ofpolicing services means that NPPs cease
to be sub-units of a larger police unit. The
officers manning each NPP will come fromthe NPC itself. NPPs therefore represent
service points only, with the deployment ofpatrol, investigative and pro-active policing
resources based on the overall needs of theentire NPC area of operations.
Each of the six policing regions will havea dedicated Regional Command
Headquarters to oversee police operations.
Six Regional Commands will replace theexisting seven police divisions. These
Regional Commands will comprise thecommand and support elements for theregion. They will also include specialist
investigation units, focusing on
investigations into serious crimes andother investigations likely to lead toprosecution in court. Each Regional
Command will house a NPC to serve as thefrontline service point for public
interaction.
1

A DGP is a development plan that defines andbuilds a particular township. In the plan, eachtown’s boundaries are clearly mapped out.

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
C. Relationship to Development
Guide Plans (DGPs)
Unlike the current NPP boundaries
which are linked to political constituencies
that may change after a General Election,
NPC boundaries are based on Urban
R e d e v e l o p m e n t A u t h o r i t y ’s ( U R A )Development Guide Plan1 (DGP) areas forthe following reasons:(a) The DGP areas, being geographicallybased, provide additional leverage by
creating a sense of territorial
ownership for the community. This
will enhance the community’s
identity.
(b) Each DGP area also has an expressedvision, which further reinforces a
coherent identity for the communities
living within that area.
(c) DGP areas are permanent, unlike
electoral boundaries. Over time,
distinct identities can emerge fordifferent communities, without being
interrupted by changes inconstituency boundaries.
Each NPC operates out of police facilities
sited within its area of operation. Facilities
for the NPCs could be co-located with othercommunity agencies. A single edifice,representing all the community agencies
for that area, will further reinforce thesense of community identity andpermanence. As NPCs or NPPs are themeans through which the SPF engages incommunity-focused policing, they caneasily blend into a building thatencompasses community clubs, community
libraries, and service points for othercommunity agencies. Most NPCs would besited at the heart of the residential area inthe DGP and remain easily accessible via
public transport.

D. Strengthening SPF’s Front-Line
Operating System
The front-line operating system refer tothe way the SPF organises and discharges
its policing duties that impact the public
every day : fast response patrols,
investigations, counter service andproactive functions such as house visits. A
key feature of the NPP system is thecompartmentalisation of its functions. A
typical minor crime case is attended to bya fast response crew, then by NPP officers
who guard the scene until a Divisional
Headquarters investigator arrives.
Frequently, the Scene of Crime officer may
even arrive separately to take photographsof the scene and dust for finger-prints. The
case and the victim are thus handed fromone officer to another.
The present system has many
drawbacks. Firstly, each officer handles
only a small piece of the entire service
process. This unnecessarily limits thecontributions and job challenge open to
officers. Secondly, it also dilutes theownership over the case. The sense ofownership diminishes when one officer
passes the case over to another to complete
the service delivery process. Thirdly, the
NPP officers’ local knowledge is not tappedin the cases, as their participation at thecrime scene is only transient. Lastly, thecrime victim is inconvenienced and may
even get confused with the service delivery
due to the internal inefficiencies in police
work processes.
The NPC system aims to integrate theentire service process : where fast response,
general investigations and basic scene ofcrime work are launched from the NPCs.
Officers are trained, supported and enabled
to carry out all the previously
compartmentalised functions in one single
service delivery. They will also take over
the ownership of cases, which are of aneighbourhood character, and pursue

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follow-up investigations. Complex cases
will still be handled by the Regional
Headquarters and the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID).
The NPC officers are also rotated amonga wider and more challenging range of
duties as compared to the NPP sstem : fast
response and counter service during whichs/he will take over the investigations of thecases that s/he attends to; follow-up
investigations; and proactive policing suchas community patrols, house visits,
community liaison, school visits etc.
More attention and time is accorded toproactive functions as the NPC systemseeks to reach out to the community evenfurther. Officers on such duties will not be
re-deployed to attend to other cases unlessthe case is urgent and involves life anddeath.
E. Building a Strong Service
Organisation
Although the SPF’s primary goal willremain to ensure safety and security, it
must, in order to continue to win
widespread community support and trust,
respond to the community’s needs in thisarea through high service standards.
However, over the years, the NPPs havetake on more services. Some of these were
justified on the grounds that police officers
need to interact and reach out to the public.
The SPF realised that in order to succeed
in strengthening the sense of safety andsecurity of the communities the police
serve, there is a need to refocus efforts on
those services that directly affect this senseof safety and security. These core services
include responding to and detecting crimes,
maintaining the peace and preventing
disorder.
Another change in the NPC system isthe conscious matching of police resources

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to the demand for police services. For
example, the number of fast response carsvaries with the demand throughout thewhole day. One may see a higher numberof patrol cars during the peak morning andevening hours, where incidents are usuallyhigh. In addition, some of the NPPs areclosed partially at night from 11 pm to 8
am, where the demand for counter service
is low and the police officers could be redeployed to perform more effective moblie
patrols.
A major quality service programme wasalso initiated to help officers internalise astrong service mindset.
F. Enhancing Community
Involvement and Responsibility
The need to enhance community
involvement and responsibility is
consistent with the need for the SPF toexpand beyond its traditional areas, so as
to best tackle the impact of deep-seatedsocial ills on law and order. By leveraging
on the involvement and sense of ownershipof individuals living within the community,
the resources available to address suchsocial dysfunction are also far greater thanif the NPPs, grassroots organisations orother community agencies attempted tosolve them on their own.
This marks a key shift from communitybased policing to community-focusedpolicing. Community-based policing is, at
its heart, concerned with how thecommunity can help the police do its job
better. In the new model, the focus isentirely on the community, as thecustomers to which the police add value.
The police, together with the community,
will strive to provide total solutions to thecommunity’s safety and security needs.
This is the next natural stage in thedevelopment of policing in Singapore. It
builds on the trust and goodwill the police
have secured through community policing.

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
The shift to a community-focused model
fundamentally alters the SPF’s operating
strategy. Successful policing will no longer
be measured solely in terms of falling crime
rates. As the focus shifts from the police tothe community, what matters to thecommunity, for example, its level of safety
and security, will determine the success orotherwise of the police mission.
Arising from this, it will no longer beappropriate for formulaic approaches to be
applied uniformly across the different
communities. Police units operating indifferent communities must develop
customised solutions tailored to meet theneeds of, and which take into account theconstraints on, each community. The needfor specific, custom-made and workable
solutions will redefine the required levelsof operational competence. These demands
will fuel the need to develop, at theorganisational level, learning competencies
so that each customised solution enhances
the quality of the future solutions.
An operating strategy that is focused on
the community also entails a skillfulmanagement of relationships between thepolice and the individuals, grassroots
organisations and volunteer groups thatform part of the community. Structurally,
the SPF will be empowered anddecentralised, so that at the front-line,
police officers can ‘broker’ for total solutions
in response to community law and orderconcerns.
Such an approach also has otherbenefits, in particular, by providing
opportunities for individual participationin improving the quality of life in theircommunity, so that emotional bonds to thecommunity are strengthened. It therefore
forms an inportant element in the overall
Singapore 21 vision to build a civil society
with strong community ties and active
citizenry. It is also an integral part of theGovernment’s strategy to gradually lower
the community’s level of dependency on theauthorities and to engender shared
responsibility for social problems and theirsolutions.
This is done through a new initiative
known as the Community Safety andSecurity Programme (CSSP). A CSSP isan action programme jointly drawn up by
the grassroots leaders, residents and thepolice. It consists of the profile of thecommunity and its needs, the key agencies
involved and the action plans to tackle thecommunity problems affecting the safety
and security of the neighbourhood.
Through CSSPs, the NPC system aims toshift the community’s mindset from what
the police are doing about safety andsecurity to what we can do together.
One CSSP is crafted for each precinct /constituency and each differs from another,since different communities in different
neighbourhoods might not share the same
concerns. The CSSP aims to get theresidents more involved and be responsible
in taking actions to address the safety andsecurity concerns affecting theirneighbourhoods. The driving belief is thateach citizen can make a difference tosociety.
G. Optimising the Contribution ofEach Police Officer
The SPF currently has a regularcomponent of nearly 8,000 officers and
1,000 civilian staff. With falling birth rates,
the size of new cohorts joining theworkforce grows smaller each year. As anorganisation competing within a limited
pool of labour resources, the SPF must be
attractive and challenging to bring in thebest talents. Whilst the SPF may face thechallenge of attracting the best talent tojoin the organisation, it has to contend withretaining officers over the medium to long
term.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 56
SPF Commissioner, Khoo Boon Hui,during one of his dialogue sessions with
NPC officers said “...That is why not only
do we have to take care of those who arewith us, but to get the best people to join us...one of the main motivations of why weare going into the NPC system, ... is to bringour officers to match the expectations of thejob, and to be proud of what we do.’’Through the NPC system, the SPF isable to redesign its front-line jobs so thatit can continue to recruit quality manpowerfrom each graduating cohort. At the sametime, in line with the national policy ofcontinuous upgrading, the SPF also needs
to upgrade the qualifications of its officers
after they have entered the service. Redesigning jobs to create viable andattractive front-line careers in the NPC
system will serve to enhance the credibilityof the SPF as an institution, and instill
trust in the ability of the police to carryout their tasks effectively.
The educational profile of police officers
serving the community must be kept highto match the broad rise in educational
qualification of the society. This will enable
the SPF to meet new job demands, greater
challenges and the expectations of the
public.
H. Organisational Structure
In order to fulfil its role as being
community-focused, and responsive andflexible to the needs of the community,
police officers in the NPC operate in anempowered and self-directed fashion. They
work as a team, rather than as individual
officers.
The basic unit in the NPC is a group of
three front-line officers, led by one groupleader. This group of four officers is selfdirected, and undertake the entire rangeof policing responsibilities of the NPC.
Each group is also responsible for138

nurturing and building a network ofcommunity relationships within a precinctof about 1,200 - 1,500 households. As thisgroup is deployed as an operational entity,
it will facilitate the process of teamlearning, a key lever of change andinnovation in the redesigned system.
An average of 5-6 such groups form one
team, which is led by a team leader andone assistant team leader. Each NPC havefour teams, reporting to an NPC
commander. Each NPC comprise, on
average, 100 regular officers. With another15 full-time national servicemen attachedto the NPP, the total strength of the NPC
will be about 115 officers.
X. NPC IMPLEMENTATIONPHASESAs the NPC system is a major change
for the entire the SPF. It involves major
re-organisation. Many of these changes
will take some time to implement. A
phased implementation approach has been
adopted:
Pilot Phase
Oct 1997
1st pilot: Queenstown NPC
created in Central West
Region.
Apr 1998
Another 3 NPCs, namely
Bukit Timah NPC, Bukit
Merah West NPC andJurong East NPC werecreated in same region.
Phase I
Jun 1999

Phase IIJun 2000

6 NPCs in West Region to
be created.

14 NPCs to be created in
North, North-Eastern andEast Regions.

112TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
Phase IIIJun 2001

8 NPCs to be created inCentral-Western Region.

In Commissioner Khoo’s words, “A pilot
is not to test whether the system will succeed
or not. It is a pilot in the sense that weallow officers more leeway to improve thesystem, to share experiences, resolve
operational problems and tell us what iswrong.’’SPF believes that its policing changes are
set in the right direction. Our success will
depend on our willingness to learn andchange the way we operate. Ourcommitment and passion to learn
collectively as a team, from the top police
chief to the front-line officer, may turn out
to be the most significant success factor in
our journey into the new policing
environment presented by the next
millennium.

XI. PRELIMINARY NPC’S RESULTS
A recent review of the pilot phase
implementation has shown positive results
and all the NPC objectives are largely met.
A large majority of the officers felt that they
had stronger working relationships with
their team mates, between teams,
supervisors and key officers. 74% of theofficers were confident of their abilities in
performing the various aspects of NPC
duties (information technology systems,
procedures and investigative duties). 81%of the officers rated the facilities in the NPC
to be much better than their previous
workplace (NPPs and Land Divisions).
Compared to one year before the NPC
was set up, one-third of the residents inthe precincts felt that the safety in theneighbourhood now was “much better”.
Two-thirds of the residents felt that thepolice had at least made some
improvements to increase security in theneighbourhood with the creation of NPCs.
XII. CONCLUSION
The community policing framework in
Singapore has been shifted to uplift the
professionalism in front-line jobs andgetting the community more involved insafety and security matters. The re-designof the NPP system builds on theachievements the SPF has made over the
past few years - community policing,empowerment and quality service. The

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