Our Year in Review

Keeping Singapore safe and secure in 2019.

It’s been another busy and fulfilling year for our Home Team Guardians! From changing or putting up new legislation to fighting crime, saving lives and public outreach efforts at the Home Team Festival, here are some of the Home Team’s key moments in 2019.

A Focus on Law and Order
Our Home Team Guardians worked hard to review, design and implement policies and laws that keep Singapore safe and secure. This year, the following Bills from the Ministry of Home Affairs were debated and passed in Parliament: 

Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill (Passed in January 2019): To enhance our anti-drug framework, enforcement powers and drug rehabilitation regime.

Criminal Law Reform Bill (Passed in May 2019): To provide stronger protection to vulnerable victims and address emerging crime trends. The Penal Code and other legislation were also revised to ensure our criminal laws remain relevant and effective.

Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill (Passed in July 2019): To enhance criminal penalties and tighten the regulatory regime to deter irresponsible driving.

Fire Safety (Amendment) Bill (Passed in August 2019): To enhance the fire safety of buildings by strengthening SCDF’s regulatory and enforcement powers.

Home Team Science and Technology Agency Bill (Passed in August 2019): To set out the scope and purpose of the Home Team Science and Technology Agency, which drives innovation and develops technologies for the Home Team.

Maintenance of Religious Harmony (Amendment) Bill (Passed in October 2019): To strengthen our ability to safeguard against and respond more effectively to threats to our religious harmony.

Women’s Charter (Amendment) Bill (Passed in November 2019): To strengthen laws against online vice and enhance the Police’s levers against vice syndicates.

The Phoenix Programme Goes Global
In March 2019, the Home Team Academy (HTA) launched the inaugural Phoenix International Programme as a platform for senior law enforcement officers from around the world to network and exchange information on current and emerging security challenges. The Programme was the second international programme that HTA had launched in a span of six months, and included many renowned speakers as well as senior-level participants from 12 countries.

70 Years of Women in Policing
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) marked 70 years of Women in Policing in March 2019 at the Harmony Hall, HTA. The event celebrated the achievements and contributions of female Police officers past and present in safeguarding Singapore. Female Police officers were first absorbed into the regular Force in 1950. Today, they are trained to the same standards as their male counterparts and serve in diverse roles within SPF.

Enforcement and Rehabilitation: Towards a Drug-free Singapore
Enacted in April 2019, the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act strengthens the Central Narcotics Bureau’s (CNB) enforcement powers against drug-related activities and protects children from being exposed to drugs.

The Bill also enhances the rehabilitation regime for drug abusers, allowing for a more calibrated approach by the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) and CNB that distinguishes between offenders who only abuse drugs and those who concurrently commit other offences. The enhanced rehabilitation regime will help drug abusers break the cycle of addiction more effectively and reintegrate into society sooner.

A New Vision, Mission and Crest
In May 2019, the Immigration & Checkpoint Authority’s (ICA) refreshed crest, vision and mission were launched during ICA’s Workplan Seminar. The changes reflect the agency’s ongoing Transformation efforts, and highlight ICA’s twin functions of border security and identification.

ICA’s Vision is now “Secure Borders, Safe Singapore” and its Mission is “We secure our borders and uphold our laws on immigration and national registration.” ICA’s new crest preserves the agency’s heritage by retaining design elements from the previous crest. At the same time, the crest has been modernised to symbolise the organisation stepping into the future, equipped with enhanced capabilities to keep Singapore safe and secure.

Our Intrepid Firefighters
2019 saw Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighters responding to the largest ever LPG blaze in Singapore’s history. The fire broke out at an LPG facility at Jalan Buroh in June and claimed the life of a worker on the scene. The flames quickly spread to an area the size of two football fields, with gas cylinders shooting across the sky as explosions shook the blackened earth. A 150-strong team of SCDF firefighters was deployed to battle the flames and completed the task within hours. 

For more on how SCDF firefighters fought the Jalan Buroh fire, check out Into the Blaze.

Honouring Our Home Team Volunteers
Community partnership is one of the pillars of the Home Team. In 2019, SCDF celebrated 150 years of Civil Defence volunteerism with a year-long series of activities to honour the contributions of SCDF volunteers and Community First Responders. This milestone was capped by a gala dinner in July.

For the first time, in 2019, volunteers from the Civil Defence Auxiliary Unit and the Volunteer Special Constabulary took part in the National Day Parade as part of the Home Team Volunteer contingent. Fifteen Home Team Volunteers from the various Home Team Boards, Councils, Committees and Volunteer schemes were also awarded the Minister for Home Affairs National Day Award for significant contributions in their respective fields of work. At the annual Minister’s Appreciation Lunch, 96 Home Team Volunteers also received Long Service Awards for their dedicated service.

Here’s a special shout-out to all the Home Team volunteers who work with us to keep Singapore safe and secure! To learn more about volunteering with the Home Team, check out the HomeTeam Volunteer Network.

Engineering a New Start for Ex-offenders
In July 2019, the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Precision Engineering and Technology Association (SPETA) to help raise the employability potential of ex-offenders within the Precision Engineering industry. A new training academy that specialises in Precision Engineering will be set up in Changi Prison Complex, and SCORE will facilitate the employment of newly released inmates at SPETA member-companies. SCORE job coaches will also provide retention support to ex-offenders upon employment.

5th Singapore Symposium on Gambling Regulation and Crime
Organised by the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA), the Symposium was held in August 2019 and brought together over 230 participants from 20 regulatory and law enforcement agencies. At the Symposium, CRA shared best practices and showcased its work amid a fast-changing regulatory landscape. For example, CRA is exploring the use of data analytics to support policy development and risk management. To encourage responsible gambling by casino patrons, CRA, the Ministry of Social and Family Development and casino operators are also looking into informed play mechanisms that provide real-time notifications to patrons about the amount of money and time that they’ve spent.

SCDF’s Maritime Transformation
In August 2019, SCDF commissioned three new state-of-the-art marine firefighting vessels – Red Sailfish, Red Manta and Red Dolphin. With the addition of these vessels, SCDF’s marine firefighting and rescue capabilities will be greatly enhanced.

For more on Red Sailfish, Red Manta and Red Dolphin, check out Making Waves: Onboard the New Ships of Marine Division.

Double Home Team Honours
This year, SPF received the Singapore Quality Award with Special Commendation from Enterprise SG for demonstrating global leadership in Policing and its commitment to excellence in its Policing efforts through constant innovation; smart deployment of technology; people development to future-proof the workforce; and working with the community and partner forces. 

SPS also received the Singapore Quality Award with Special Commendation, having previously obtained the honour in 2012. Since adopting the Business Excellence Framework in 2000, SPS has introduced initiatives to strengthen its systems and processes while enhancing rehabilitation for offenders. These include adopting technology to raise operational efficiency; offering alternative sentencing options for first-time, low-risk offenders; and community collaborations to support offenders from in-care to after-care.

Innovation, Organisational Excellence and Going Green 
In October, HTA was awarded the GovInsider Innovation Award (Best Risk Category) for its Home Team Simulation System (HTS2). The GovInsider Innovation Awards celebrate the very best of government innovation in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. HTS2 is the first training system in the world to deploy “live” and virtual simulation together. 

In 2019, HTA also achieved the Singapore Quality Class Star with People Niche certification for its excellent management practices, commitment towards continuous improvement and sustainable business performance. These have enabled HTA to add value to the Home Team through the transformation of Home Team Training and Learning. Other honours received by HTA this year include the Energy Efficiency National Partnership Award for Public Sector (Organisation) and the BCA Green Mark Award (Platinum).

All Together as One Home Team!
Held in November, Home Team Festival 2019 gave visitors fantastic insight into the Home Team’s capabilities and how our Home Team officers are dedicated to keeping Singapore safe and secure. Held at the Singapore Expo, this year’s Festival featured a range of interactive displays, Home Team vehicles, ops demos, intrepid K9s, cool tech, garang officers and other highlights. If there was one constant over the three days, it was the smiles on the faces of the 110,000 visitors who got to see the One Home Team spirit in action!

Meet Inspector Clif! 
SPF's crimefighting efforts took on a cool new dimension in November 2019 with introduction of Inspector Clif, an online avatar that augments SPF's crime prevention and deterrence efforts by educating and engaging the online community. Inspector Clif (whose name stands for the SPF core values of Courage, Loyalty, Integrity and Fairness) regularly posts crime prevention advisories and content on trending issues related to safety and security in Singapore.

To learn more about Inspector Clif, check out Inspector Clif is on the Case.

HTX Joins the Home Team Family
In December 2019, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), the newest member of the Home Team family! HTX harnesses Science and Technology (S&T) to exponentially enhance the Home Team’s operations and keep Singapore safe and secure. HTX will integrate a full range of S&T capabilities in homeland security to solve crimes, save lives, secure borders and safeguard our public spaces. HTX officers will also work with the Home Team’s operational forces on the ground, in order to develop customised solutions and grow organic capabilities for homeland security.

For more on the launch of HTX, check out HTX-Factor: The Home Team’s Force Multiplier.

Saluting Our Home Team Guardians
We couldn’t close our year-end round-up without acknowledging the dedicated officers who give their best every day to fight crime, save lives, secure our borders and keep Singapore drug-free. Whether this vital work occurs under the spotlight or in the shadows, they know their efforts are appreciated. “Thank you” to our Home Team Guardians, and here’s to another year of keeping Singapore safe and secure!