RATIO OF LOCAL POPULATION TO SPF POLICE OFFICERS AND TURNOVER RATE SINCE 2020

Officers of the Singapore Police Force (“SPF”) are instrumental in ensuring the current low crime situation and keeping Singapore safe and secure. Recently, the Minister for Home Affairs, in answer to my PQ relating to the staffing strength of investigation officers, highlighted their plight and increase in workload. I sought a better understanding of the problem through filing a PQ on SPF’s manpower situation. In his reply, the Minister revealed that, whilst the ratio of regular police officers to the population is relatively stable between 2020 to 2022, the turnover rate has more than doubled last year as compared to the figure for 2020 and 2021. Should this trend continue, this will definitely be cause for some concern. I will study this issue in more depth in the run up to COS 2024.

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Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) for each year since 2020, what is the ratio of local population to regular SPF police officers; and (b) what is the turnover rate amongst the officers for each year in the same period.

Mr K Shanmugam: The ratio of regular police officers in the Singapore Police Force to the total population and the turnover rate from 2020 to 2022 is listed in Table 1.