Sunday, August 3, 2008

Singapore has fewer policemen per 100,000 people but lower crime rate than some cities

News excerpt (Channelnewsasia):

"SINGAPORE: Cities like Hong Kong and New York have more police officers per 100,000 people of its population compared to Singapore.

Yet the Republic fared better when it comes to keeping crime rate down last year, said Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng at a community event.

And that's because Singaporeans have played their part to deter criminals."

Click here to read more.


Such a positive report. For one thing, we don't have much riots or people going on strike. Such things are illegal. So, again, the govt of Singapore are lucky that Singaporeans are a harmonious lot.

But let's get back to the facts here. The way I see it, Singapore's police force is under-staffed and we have had a high jump in population over the past years. The amount of foreigners have increased, surpassing a million. We have a lot of events going on every year, with the National Day coming in a few days time, with quite a considerable amount of security being deployed. Not to mention the armed forces marching during the parade and also those helping out with the National Day event.

I remember reading about how our policemen and women are working over time. I even heard of a friend's friend who couldn't get leave for his engagement this year. Rumours or not, this problem has to addressed. With the upcoming IR in the works, I wonder if we have enough police to patrol our streets.

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