The Singapore Police Force (SPF) held the Police Day Observance Ceremony 2020 on 3 June 2020. The Police Day has been commemorated annually on 3 June since 1971. It celebrates SPF’s achievements, recognises the contributions of past and present officers, and brings officers together to renew our pledge to serve Singapore and to carry out our duties with courage, loyalty, integrity and fairness.
Due to the COVID-19 situation, SPF marked this year’s Police Day with a virtual Police Day Observance Ceremony, instead of the traditional Police Day Parade. Commissioner of Police Hoong Wee Teck led the observance ceremony that was attended virtually by more than 2,500 officers from various SPF units island-wide. This is the largest turnout ever for a Police Day commemoration. A video of 200 officers reciting the Police pledge to reaffirm the Force’s commitment to serve the nation was also produced to mark the significance of 200 years of policing this year. The video has been uploaded on SPF’s Facebook page.
Significance of Police Day
3 June 1959 is of special significance as Singapore obtained self-government on that day, and when SPF first became accountable to the people of Singapore, as the law enforcement agency of an elected Government. In 1971, Professor Wong Lin Ken, then Minister for Home Affairs, announced the designation of 3 June as Police Day. In his speech at the opening of “Police Week” on 3 June 1971, he said, “The Government has designated 3rd of June to be Police Day, to reaffirm the fact that the Police is a part of our society, responsible to an elected government, and the maintenance of law and order is a service to the community.”
Award Presentation
The award recipients for the Best Land Division and the Best National Service (NS) Operationally Ready Unit, as well as the Police National Service Full-time (PNSF) officers and Police National Servicemen (PNSmen) of the Year were announced at the virtual ceremony.
Please refer to Annex A for the list of award recipients.
Best Land Division
Bedok Police Division won the Best Land Division award this year. Commander of Bedok Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police Julius Lim, dedicated the award to his officers, who displayed “courage and commitment in keeping their neighbourhoods safe from crime, while also coping with COVID-19 related deployments at quarantine and isolation facilities”.
AC Lim said that the award was also a recognition of the collective crime-fighting spirit displayed by the community. For instance, in December 2019, various community partners came together with Bedok Police Division to organise ‘Youth Carnival @ Bedok’, which reached out to families in need, and provided opportunities for youths to serve the community. Such strong Police-community relationships are critical in the fight against crime.
AC Lim also shared that Bedok Police Division had implemented several initiatives to raise public awareness of scams, including developing anti-scam videos, and leveraging social media platforms like WhatsApp to push out important crime-related messages in a timely manner to the public.
Best NS Operationally Ready Unit
Jurong Police Division is awarded the Best NS Operationally Ready Unit for the second consecutive year. NS Commander of Jurong Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police (NS) Daric Teo, attributed the achievement to strong teamwork between the PNSmen and the regular officers. He commended the PNSmen for playing a significant role in supporting Jurong Police Division in frontline policing duties and a series of major operations, such as the National Day Parade, F1 and Year-End Countdown in 2019, and more recently, COVID-19 related operations.
Commissioner of Police Hoong Wee Teck said, “As the Force comes together to mark Police Day and to commemorate our 200 years of history in the midst of uncertain times, we will always keep in mind our fundamental role as a Force for the nation – to maintain law and order, to protect life and property, and to serve our community. We will remain steadfast in our values of courage, loyalty, integrity and fairness and build upon our strong foundation, as we work as one Force to safeguard our nation’s future, for many generations to come.”
The first Police Day Parade was held on 3 June 1971.
Photo credit: National Archive Singapore
Commissioner of Police leading officers in the recitation of the Police pledge
Bedok Police Division, the winner of Best Land Division Competition 2019
TRACOM trainees participating in the virtual Police Day Observance Ceremony
Annex A - List of Award Recipients
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Best Land Division |
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1st Position-Bedok Police Division 2nd Position-Ang Mo Kio Police Division 3rd Position-Clementi Police Division |
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Best NS Operationally Ready Unit |
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1st Position-Jurong Police Division 2nd Position-Airport Police Division 3rd Position-Ang Mo Kio Police Division |
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PNSF Officers & PNSmen of The Year |
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PNSF Officers
PNSmen
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SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
03 June 2020 @ 3:30 PM