1. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has broadened the scope of the SGSecure Responders’ Network (SRN) from January 2022, to encourage more members of the public to join the SRN and contribute to the safety and security of Singapore in various ways.
Background
2. The SRN is part of the SGSecure national movement, which was launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2016 as Singapore’s community response to the threat of terrorism. SGSecure focuses on three core actions that everyone can do – Staying Alert, Staying United, Staying Strong:
• Staying Alert to prevent a terrorist attack and to keep your family, friends and yourself safe in the event of a terror attack
• Staying United during peacetime and in crisis
• Staying Strong by being ready to deal with a crisis, and to be resilient and help each other bounce back after a terror attack
3. The SRN was first launched to grow the pool of community responders who can be mobilised to help one another during crises. Parts of the “Respond” feature from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)’s myResponder app was added to the SGSecure app[1]. Users of the SGSecure app or myResponder app receive notifications alerting them of cardiac arrest or minor fire cases in their vicinity, which they can respond to, to provide assistance before the arrival of emergency services. This contributes to the “Staying Strong” pillar of the SGSecure movement. When more people are trained in emergency preparedness skills and are prepared to step forward to help others, we will be more resilient in the event of a crisis such as a terrorist attack.
4. Since the launch of SRN in 2019, the number of Responders in the community has grown to more than 100,000. In addition to growing the number of Responders, we have also seen an encouraging increase in the responses by Responders to cardiac arrests and minor fires. From 2019 to 2021, the response rates of Responders for cardiac arrest activations and minor fires activations increased from about 30% to 45%.
Broadened Scope of SGSecure Responders
5. Riding on the earlier successes in growing the pool of Responders and in improving response rates to activations, MHA has introduced more roles for SGSecure Responders.
6. The broadened scope of SGSecure Responders will cover the other two pillars of the SGSecure movement.
a. Under the “Staying Alert” pillar, SGSecure Responders are encouraged to keep a lookout and report suspicious items and behaviours, including suspected cases of radicalisation, through the SGSecure app. Such early reporting will allow the authorities to intervene in a timely manner and prevent an attack.
b. Under the “Staying United” pillar, Responders can help to share news from credible or official sources such as the SGSecure app, which will send out alerts and updates during major emergencies. This will mitigate the spread of misinformation during a crisis and help the community stay informed and calm.
Please refer to Annex A for the full scope of SGSecure Responder’s roles.
7. Anyone can be a Responder if they are willing to play their part in any of these roles. These added roles of SGSecure Responders aim to encourage more members of the public to join the network, especially those who are keen to join, but may not have the confidence to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), use an automated external defibrillator (AED), or put out minor fires as yet. The broadened scope will also enable the Home Team to work with SGSecure Responders to deal with the terrorism threat better, from preventing an attack (Staying Alert), to the immediate response during an attack (Staying Strong), to the community’s response and recovery after an attack (Staying United).
8. By expanding the scope of SGSecure Responders, we hope that everyone will be able to contribute to the safety and security of Singapore in different ways.
Launch of New SGSecure Responders’ Network Logo
9. MHA is also launching a new SRN logo, which is a subsidiary logo to complement the main logo for the SGSecure movement. It will be used for related collaterals and will accompany activations and alerts for SGSecure Responders. Please refer to Annex B for more information on the new SRN logo.
Everyone Can Play a Part
10. The terrorism threat to Singapore remains high, stemming primarily from self-radicalised individuals. As an open society, events abroad can also influence individuals in our society to violence, impacting Singapore’s domestic security landscape. As a community, we must be prepared for an attack that can strike at the most unexpected moments, such as in our neighbourhood, workplace, or school. Should an attack happen, a strong community response is critical.
11. We encourage everyone to download the SGSecure app and register to become an SGSecure Responder. By joining SRN, we can actively play a part to keep ourselves and the people around us safe.
[1] As part of SCDF’s Save-A-Life initiative to enhance community first response to emergencies, the myResponder app is an application by SCDF that will notify Responders of suspected cardiac arrest and minor fire cases near them.
Annex A - Full Scope of SGSecure Responders (PDF, 148KB)
Annex B - Information on New SGSecure Responders' Network Logo (PDF, 203KB)
