Singapore is the safest and most secure country!
While other countries are combating terrorism, racial and religious riots, corruption and other social evils, we are nestled within the safe and warm embrace of this country. Singapore is, after all, one of the top 10 safest countries in the world to live in. Let's find out the reasons behind Singapore's undisputable safety and security, and meet the unsung heroes who made all these possible!
Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the whole wide world!
Imagine living in a country where a theft occurs every 30 seconds, a burglary occurs every 5 minutes, a murder occurs every 22 minutes and a drunk-driven car accident occurs every hour. That would be difficult to imagine since Singapore is pretty safe and secure, right? Here in Singapore, your parents do not have to worry about you walking and coming back from school on your own and you can play a game of soccer or basketball with your friends without worrying about strangers kidnapping you! However, in other countries where crime rates are skyrocketing high, people are afraid to be on the streets after it is dark.
We owe the safety and security of our nation to the Singapore Police Force –yes, our friendly heroes and heroines in the blue (Dacron blue to be exact!) uniforms! Back in the 19 th century, the streets of Singapore were not as safe as they are now. During that time, it was hard to keep law and order in Singapore. There were violence and crimes everywhere: racial and religious riots, stealing, looting, robberies, murders, kidnappings, arson, the presence of secret societies and other serious crimes. Something had to be done to re-establish Singapore's law and order. Under the command of Francis James Bernard – William Farquhar's son-in- law – a team of 11 police officers were set up. Do you know who the first police commissioner was? Hint: A road was named after him. The answer is Thomas Dunman!
Over the years, the police force managed to restore Singapore's law and order. Today, the police force has grown to over 36,000 police officers, stationing their operations at 32 Neighbourhood Police Centres and 60 Neighbourhood Police Posts. Thanks to these heroes and heroines, Singapore is considered as one of countries with a low crime rate!
You can also help the police officers in crime prevention. Do you know how you can do that? Inform the officers at your Neighbourhood Police Post, or call the police hotline 1800 - 255 0000, if you see any suspicious characters loitering outside your neighbours' homes.
Singapore ranks 1 st in Asia and 5 th in the world as being the least-corrupted country !
Corruption is used to describe an organization that is not performing its duties, or performing its duties in an improper way to the disadvantage of others. Examples of these are bribery, embezzlement (the stealing and misusing of funds for one's own profit ) and extortion . It is hard to imagine, but before the 1950s, corruption was actually a way of life in Singapore! As such, t he Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was set up in 1952 to investigate and prevent corruption in the public and private sectors of Singapore. Despite this, carrying out their duty was not easy for the officers because of our weak laws which enabled corrupt public officers to get away scot-free with their crimes , the lack of public support, the presence of uneducated people who submissively allow corrupt officers to get their ways and underpaid officers practising corruption to make more money.
Life was better after the People's Action Party came into power in 1959. Firm actions were taken against the corruptors, who were immediately dismissed from their services. Other corruptors simply left their corrupted organizations to avoid being investigated by the CPIB.
Today, the CPIB is responsible for upholding the honour and integrity of the public (governmental), private (non-governmental) service sectors and encouraging corruption-free transactions within these sectors. Anyone who is caught committing corruption will be charged in court and punished through a fine, dismissal from his job, reduction of his rank, or halting his salary.
We should be proud that Singapore is a safe and secure country, but we should never take that for granted. Trouble can hit us without warning. Keeping Singapore safe is everyone's job and we can continue to enjoy this safety and security by practicing our five national values:
- Nation before community and society before self
- Family as the basic unit of society
- Community support and respect for the individual
- Consensus, not conflict
- Racial and religious harmony