SINGAPORE: With Singapore facing its highest security threat in recent years, security spending will be a major item on the Government’s expenditure list and it is expected to increase over the next decade , said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Friday (Feb 2) after a visit to the Home Team Tactical Centre.
He said that it is important that action is taken to keep Singapore safe and secure.
From S$14.8 billion in FY2011, Singapore’s security spending has increased steadily to S$19.5 billion in FY2016, according to data from the Ministry of Finance (MOF). The latter accounted for 4.7 per cent of Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP).
When asked how much security spending could increase, Mr Heng declined to put a figure to it but noted that it is clearly an “important area to invest resources in”.
To fund these expenditure increases, it will be crucial for the Government to do its long-term projections for expenditure and revenue, which will be revealed on Feb 19 when Budget 2018 is delivered, said Mr Heng.
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat visits the Home Team Tactical Centre to observe joint counterterrorism capabilities by the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force. (Photo: Tang See Kit)
HOME TEAM TO BUILD STRONGER CAPABILITIES
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has enhanced its counterterrorism capabilities to tackle the rising security threat, said Director Operations, Assistant Commissioner How Kwang Hee.
“Over the past two years, the police have deployed specialist teams like the Emergency Response Teams and the in-situ reaction teams to respond swiftly and effectively to terror attacks,” he said.
“The police have also leveraged technology to better support our frontline officers by investing in technological infrastructure to help the Home Team better leverage data analytics, sensors and sense-making capabilities to enhance the effectiveness of ground operations.”
One example is the increased use of analytics in operations such as having police cameras equipped with video analytics capabilities to detect safety and security incidents.
The police have installed more cameras in public areas to provide better sense marking capabilities during an attack, said Mr How.
More than 65,000 police cameras have been installed at 10,000 HDB blocks and multi-storey carparks as of Sep 2017. Another 11,000 cameras will be installed at 2,500 locations islandwide by 2020, covering public areas in town, neighbourhood and hawker centres
The police will continue to dedicate more resources into developing its counterterrorism capabilities by enhancing training and equipment of frontline officers, as well as integrating the operations of Singapore’s security agencies.
Ground response forces, emergency response teams, rapid development troop and SCDF demonstrate a concerted tiered response capability to a public security threat. (Photo: Tang See Kit)
Mr Heng observed several counterterrorism demonstrations by the SPF and the Singapore Civil Defence Force. (Photo: Tang See Kit)
As part of his visit on Friday, Mr Heng observed several counterterrorism demonstrations by the SPF and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
This included a demonstration by the Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) Unit which stormed a room to apprehend “terrorists”. The ground response forces, emergency response teams, rapid development troop and SCDF also demonstrated a concerted tiered response capability to a public security threat.
