SOC to get more officers, equipment in next 2-3 years

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/soc-get-more-officers-equipment-next-2-3-years

Over the next two to three years, the number of front-line officers in the Special Operations Command (SOC) will be doubled to 600 and they will also be provided with additional equipment.

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The measures — which will allow a third SOC troop to be on standby around the clock, on top of the two teams that are deployed — will boost the unit’s size and capabilities in the wake of the Little India riot.

Delivering a ministerial statement in response to the report of the Committee of Inquiry (COI) into the Dec 8 riot, Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean also backed the police commanders and officers for doing the best they could in the circumstances they faced, with the information they had on hand.

“It is not always possible to take the analyses done after the fact and substitute them for the judgment that the commanders and officers had to make on the ground that night,” he said.

In its report released to the public last week, the COI criticised the decision by police officers to hold their position instead of acting against rioters pending the arrival of the SOC. Among other things, the COI said there were opportunities for the police to “intervene and take decisive action” and it disagreed that it was a life-threatening situation.

The Government has accepted all the COI’s recommendations, including the suggestion to beef up the Home Team. The number of SOC troops will increase from eight to 12, with the number of officers in each troop rising to 44 from 35.

Aljunied GRC MP Sylvia Lim noted that the issue of the police’s manpower shortage had been raised as early as 2008 and that she also spoke about it in 2012. Citing Commissioner of Police Ng Joo Hee’s testimony to the COI — where he said that he wants to hire 1,000 more officers to beef up the police’s anti-riot capability — Ms Lim questioned if there was any “communication gap” between the police top brass and government leaders.

The police have increased their headcount by about 15 per cent over the past decade, from about 9,000 to about 10,300 officers. They have also been investing in technology as a force multiplier, including the use of surveillance cameras.

Since the riot, the police have installed more cameras in critical locations and shortened the approval process to activate the SOC, among other initiatives. As part of an upgrading programme started a few years ago, a new combined operations room to track the deployment of police resources will be ready by the end of the year. By then, front-line officers will also be able to receive more advanced communications and imaging, among other things, through mobile devices.