Police force get female bloggers to help in recruitment

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24-year-old Beatrice Tan, co-owner of 16-month-old online boutique Klarra and former model of online boutique Love Bonito, was recently roped in to help the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in its recruitment drive.

Two blog entries last week show her ditching her usual pretty frocks for a polo-tee-and-track-pants get up.

She was invited by the police to a visit over two days, on Jan 29 and Feb 6, to reflect on various vocations in the force.

Also invited were two other fashion, beauty and lifestyle bloggers, Miss Yina Goh, 25, and Miss Rachell Tan, 22.

On the first day of the visit, the trio were given a glimpse into the life of a trainee during basic residential training at the Home Team Academy and the work of neighbourhood police centre and community policing officers.

The next day, they experienced the work carried out by Special Operations Command officers.

They were then required to blog about their experiences.

The point of the blog posts becomes apparent at the end, when the bloggers list the perks of becoming a police officer, and provide links and steps to sign up to become part of the police force.

The New Paper understands that this engagement was arranged by Nuffnang, a local agency that manages blogs and creates a platform for bloggers to be exposed to prospective advertisers.

The engagement is part of the SPF's latest recruitment efforts.

Other than online media, the force relies on traditional media and events for recruitment.

Said an SPF spokesman:

"The SPF is always on the lookout to recruit more women officers. SPF believes that women have an equally important role in SPF, alongside the men.

"The SPF approached these bloggers to provide a female perspective on the life of a police officer to appeal to more women."

Miss Tan's blog has an average of 8,000 unique hits daily.

While the SPF is looking to recruit both men and women, the SPF spokesman added that the blog entries will "help to dispel the myth that women cannot do as well as the men" and "help to dispel the notion that women have limited career opportunities".

"Through the bloggers' experience and testimonies about the physical exercises, it will also help to address the uncertainties and concerns of women who may be afraid to join the SPF due to their smaller physique."