SINGAPORE: New quick-reaction teams have been deployed to areas with high human traffic as part of Singapore’s defence against terrorist threats.
Largely made up of specially selected full-time national servicemen (NSFs) from the Singapore Police Force, these In-Situ Reaction Teams (IRT) have been patrolling areas such as Orchard Road and Marina Bay Sands since the beginning of December.
The IRTs are part of the Protective Security Command (ProCom), which was established to provide quick reaction forces to neutralise armed threats.
The officers in these teams are entrusted with greater responsibilities to take action where swift police intervention is required. Specially-selected NSFs are trained in special tactics as part of an intense training regime.
Full-time national servicemen who are selected go through an intense training programme.(Photo: Ahmad Khan)
Citing recent types of global terror attacks, such as the New York City truck attack and the Munich knife attack in October, Assistant Commissioner of Police Manimaran Pushpanatan rationalised the need to have a new way to combat terror.
“In-Situ Reaction Teams are there to deter, detect and respond to public security incidents, similar to what you see in London or in Paris,” he said on Friday (Dec 15). “They are essentially deployed in-situ in areas of high-human congregation to deal with this task.”
Each patrol team is made up of three NSFs and one regular.
“We know the risks involved when we signed up. And every time we go out there’s that sense of responsibility, it will always play at the back of your mind whether any incident may happen,” said Special Constable Sergeant Jared Chang Joo Xyang, 19, one of the NSFs in the IRT unit.
“But we know we’ve been trained well. It’s a very comprehensive programme here in ProCom,” he added. “We trust the training programme and we are glad that the police trusts us in doing such an important job.
“The physical training especially was tough because we are trying to respond in a fast time. But it was manageable.”
The new teams will complement the emergency response teams and rapid deployment troops.
