The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has launched its first Police Heritage Trail on 26 November 2020 to commemorate 200 years of policing in Singapore.
The Police Heritage Trail, consisting of nine sites, marks the Force’s contributions in policing this city-state from its infancy to its rise to prominence as a highly developed nation. Starting from the first police office by the Singapore River, to key police establishments located in the civic district of Singapore, the trail reflects the developments in policing since the 1800s.
The trail which is marked by a physical marker, starts from the Singapore River near the Asian Civilisations Museum Green. Visitors can also explore a permanent exhibition at the Kreta Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) which provides information about the trail and an insight into the historic area around the NPP. Please refer to Annex A for more information on the trail.
The Police Heritage Trail’s companion guide and map can be found online at https://www.roots.gov.sg/places/places-landing/trails/Police-Heritage-Trail on National Heritage Board’s heritage portal, Roots.sg.
Members of the public can visit https://www.police.gov.sg/spf200 for more information on SPF200.
Police Heritage Trail Marker
Exhibition at the Kreta Ayer NPP
Annex A – Information on the sites in the Police Heritage Trail
|
1) First Police Office A sketch of Singapore Fort Canning Hill by K. M. Foong, based on a photograph of the original drawing by Lieutenant Philip Jackson (1823), c. 1950s Courtesy of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board |
The first purpose-built Police Office, made of attap, was situated near the Singapore River from December 1820 to 1823. Before this, the 12-man team operated out of the residence of Police Assistant Francis James Bernard – located in front of the present-day Victoria Concert Hall. Bernard was appointed to the post in May 1820 by his father-in-law, also Singapore’s first Resident, Major-General William Farquhar, three months before Sir Stamford Raffles agreed to start a police force. |
|
2) Old Hill Street Police Station Old Hill Street Police Station, 2020 |
The Old Hill Street Police Station was built in 1934 as part of an extensive infrastructural scheme spearheaded by Inspector-General of Police Harold Fairburn to improve police capabilities. It amplified police presence in the city centre at a time when Singapore had the unsavoury reputation of being the “Chicago of the East”. It also enabled the police to target the heart of secret society activities in Chinatown and effectively break up gangs to clean up the town. The building was vacated by the police in 1980. It was gazetted as a National Monument in 1998. It houses the offices of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Communications and Information today. |
|
3) Central Police Station Central Police Station, c. 1911 Arshak C Galstaun Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore |
The Central Police Station was converted from Singapore’s first civil jail in 1849. Nicknamed ‘Yit Hor Mata Chu’ (Number 1 Police Station) by locals, it stood in the heart of the commercial centre known as the “Greater Town” which ran south of the Singapore River from Boat Quay to Tanjong Pagar and Chinatown. Over more than a century, this station saw much action - from riots to horrific crimes, to being occupied by the Japanese forces during World War Two, until it was demolished in 1978. |
|
4) Police Courts Police Courts, late 19th century Courtesy of the National Museum of Singapore, National Heritage Board |
The Police Courts were built in 1885 to deal with increased criminal cases, concomitant of Singapore’s growing prosperity as an entrêpot. Standing opposite the Central Police Station at South Bridge Road, police prosecutors tried a range of cases - murders, armed robberies, secret society activities and petty crimes. In 1954, the Police Courts were renamed Magistrates’ Courts. These courts were moved, along with other subordinate courts, to the new Subordinate Courts building at Havelock Road in 1975 (today known as State Courts). In the same year, the Police Courts building was demolished. |
|
5) Kreta Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post Kreta Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post, 2020 |
From 1908 to 1988, this building housed the former North Canal Road Post Office. Built within the compound of the Police Courts, its architectural features reflect Singapore’s colonial past. The entrance is graced by a decorative arch and two large moulded brackets. A large sloping hip roof extends outward to provide shelter against the sun and rain. |
|
6) Pearl’s Hill Lower Barracks Lower Barracks, 2020 |
The Lower and Upper Barracks were part of Fairburn’s plan to increase police presence in town and to house the Sikh Contingent. At their completion in 1934, the buildings struck a sharp contrast to the surrounding low-rise shophouses in Chinatown. After the Sikh Contingent disbanded in 1946, government agencies, the Police Headquarters, Radio Division, Central Police Division, and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) moved into the Lower Barracks. CID, the last occupant, relocated to the Police Cantonment Complex at New Bridge Road in 2001. The Lower and Upper Barracks were gazetted for conservation in 2008 and marked as Historic Sites in 2012. They are leased for commercial use today. |
|
7) Pearl’s Hill Upper Barracks Upper Barracks, 2020 |
Constructed together with the Lower Barracks in 1934, the Upper Barracks was repurposed as government offices after World War Two. Its occupants included the Ministry of Interior and Defence (1965-1970), and the Police Headquarters (1989-2001), before it moved to New Phoenix Park. In 1956, a bombproof annexe was completed amidst a period of political turmoil and violent riots, and it served as the nerve centre for police communications during crises and peacetime. Today, an exhibition of the bunker, now known as the former Combined Operations Room is open for tours. |
|
8) Former Traffic Police (TP) Headquarters Maxwell Chambers Suites, former TP Headquarters, 2020 |
Familiar to generations of drivers, this building at Maxwell Road was home to the Traffic Police for 69 years from 1930. The impressive structure with a white exterior was synonymous with the uniforms of TP officers, and comprised barracks for officers and their families. It also housed Singapore’s first Driving Test Centre when driving tests were introduced in 1941. The TP operated from this building until 1999 when it shifted to 10 Ubi Avenue 3. The building was gazetted for conservation on 2 April 2007 and refurbished in 2019 as Maxwell Chambers Suites. |
|
9) Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters CID Headquarters, c. 1930s Lee Kip Lin Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore |
Dubbed the ‘Scotland Yard’ of Malaya, the CID Headquarters was built in 1931 to house what was known as the Detective Department. It boasted state-of-the-art photographic studios and a criminal registry to aid crime detection. It functioned as the base where operations were planned against crime syndicates and secret societies. The Special Branch (known as the Internal Security Branch today) operated from in the same building from 1940 – 1976 for joint crackdown efforts on secret societies and subversive organisations. After the building was demolished in 1993, CID relocated to the Lower Barracks before moving to the Police Cantonment Complex in 2001. |
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
26 November 2020 @ 4:00 PM