STAFF TURNOVER IN THE HOME TEAM
From the recent PQs as well as observations that I have made, it is clear to me that the workload of our Home Team officers, including white-collar crime investigation officers, remains heavy. Whilst the Home Team invests heavily in processes and technology to improve technology thereby improving productivity, there is still a need to ensure that the Home Team has sufficient human resources to discharge its important mission of keeping Singapore safe and secure. I therefore asked the Minister for Home Affairs a series of questions on this matter. My questions and his answers are accessible via the link below.
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Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the staff turnover rate amongst white collar crime investigation officers (IOs) in the Singapore Police Force, including the Commercial Affairs Department, in the past five years; (b) of the rate, what is the split attributable to IOs resigning and retiring respectively; and © what percentage of retired IOs are re-employed to continue investigating white collar crime cases for the same period.
Mr K Shanmugam: The average turnover rate of white-collar crime Investigation Officers (IOs) in the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) over the past five years was 6%. Of these, 94% resigned from service, while 6% were retiring officers, half of whom were re-employed with the CAD.
The Police invests heavily in the training and development of these IOs. They are sent for specialised training conducted by the Home Team School of Criminal Investigation to deepen capabilities to address complex cases. They also have the opportunity to go on external postings to gain exposure and may be sponsored for professional accreditation. The skills and experience of the IOs are highly sought after in the financial sector.
To attract and retain the IOs, the compensation package is regularly reviewed to remain market competitive. In the recently completed review, officers in the Home Affairs Uniformed Services and the Commercial Affairs Scheme will receive a salary adjustment of between 3% and 10% with effect from 1 Jan 2023. At the same time, the Police constantly looks at ways to enable the IOs to better manage their heavy caseload, like the introduction of the Digital Forensic Kiosk, which allows officers to efficiently retrieve and analyse information in the mobile digital devices of persons under investigation.
BRINGING FORWARD DECISION TO INCREASE HOME TEAM OFFICERS’ RETIREMENT AGE TO 58 BY 2030
Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs having regard to the manpower crunch that the Home Team faces, whether the decision to increase the Home Team officers’ retirement age to 58 by 2030 may be brought forward and adjusted accordingly.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Home Affairs Uniformed Services (HUS) officers’ retirement age was raised from 55 to 56 on 1 July 2021. It will be raised progressively to 58 by 2030.
This phased approach is to manage the impact on future hiring, the availability of posts, and organisational renewal. Because of the nature of the work and the deep training required, our uniformed services have a pure-build workforce model, and most officers remain in service until retirement. A steady inflow and outflow of manpower is needed each year to meet operational demands and to build a sustainable pipeline of leaders and specialists. Raising the retirement age progressively allows the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to manage smoothly the changes to the manpower flow, to avoid bottlenecks at various levels of the organisation. Where necessary for operational needs, MHA will offer re-employment to officers who meet eligibility criteria, which includes physical fitness.
Recognising that manpower is a constraint, MHA had started to transform our concept of operations since 2015. We have invested heavily in technology to enhance our operational effectiveness and productivity. For example, the Singapore Prison Service has been using video analytics to pick up abnormal behaviour in prison cells. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority has increased the usage of automated clearance facilities by travellers. The Smart Fire Station in Punggol uses sensors and automation to help with manpower management, operational response and decision making. Artificial intelligence is applied to help Police officers analyse the high volumes of footage from the Singapore Police Force’s camera network.
In addition, MHA has rallied community and industry stakeholders to help us deliver our mission.
That said, technology and community partnership can mitigate the manpower pressures only to some extent, and we will still need an appropriately sized force to be able to continue keeping Singapore safe and secure.
