300 officers will be added to special ops police group: DPM Teo

A total of 300 officers will be added to beef up the strength of Singapore’s Special Operations Command, a group of specially-trained police officers who respond to public emergencies or disorders.
 
This, alongside a series of other measures, was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean in parliament on Monday as he accepted all of the recommendations made by a three-man Committee of Inquiry (COI) that looked at the root causes of the riot in Little India that took place last December.
 
For the main police force, retirement age for uniformed officers has been raised from 50 to 55, while employment terms have been enhanced, he said.
 
Commenting on the COI’s findings, Teo said the officers and commanders on the ground at the riot scene “did the best they could in the circumstances they faced, with the information they had on hand”.
 
Meanwhile, zooming in on Little India, Teo, who is also Home Affairs Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security, said the number of police cameras in the area has more than doubled from 113 pre-riot to 250 today. Another 88 cameras will be installed in public areas between now and the end of next year, he added.
 
There are now 20 to 30 more police officers deployed in the area, said DPM Teo, who said that the government is looking at upping the strength of auxiliary police officers and private security officers from 81 to 93.
 
Police officers have also started trying out body-worn and vehicle-mounted cameras, said Teo, who added that all fast-response police cars will be equipped with them by the end of next year. These cameras, he said, will also permit live streaming of footage recorded to provide a real-time picture for both frontline responders and operations centres.
 
He also said the police has its eye on other “foreign worker congregation areas” such as Geylang, which will see stricter enforcement of licensing and parking rules, as well as more than 250 more cameras installed in the area by end 2016.
 
In a follow-up speech, Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said local dormitory operators have agreed to cooperate with a new regulatory framework for large dorms that “have a larger impact on their surrounding communities”.
 
Tan also added that his ministry will look into further improving its outreach to foreign workers, in order to better-educate them on their rights, responsibilities, channels for assistance and social norms.