Singapore police to launch new vocation vs. cybercrime

New programmes encouraging public participation will also be introduced.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said a new Cyber Police National Service vocation will be introduced later this year that aims to enhance efforts to fight online crimes.

Speaking at the Singapore Police Force Workplan Seminar 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat noted that scams and cybercrimes made up more than 70% of the total crime cases reported in the city-state in 2023, up from around 48% in 2020.

The rollout of the new vocation will allow the police to better tap the expertise of full-time national servicemen (NSF), Heng said. They can be deployed to the Cybercrime Command (CCC) and the Anti-Scam Command (ASC), he added.

Heng hopes this will push NSFs “to deepen their expertise in the field, which would position them to seize new opportunities in our digital economy.”

Aside from this, Heng announced two new initiatives that will allow the public to work with the SPF in going after cyber scams.

First is the “Cyber Guardians on Watch” programme that will send participants timely cybercrime alerts and advisories from the police. These can be disseminated to other people to raise awareness, Heng said.

The “Cyber Guardians” will also work with the police by reporting suspected malicious activities through digital platforms, he added.

Another initiative is the Cyber Crime Prevention Ambassadors programme. Heng said this was modelled after the National Crime Prevention Council’s Crime Prevention Ambassadors scheme.

Volunteers will undergo specialised training to equip them with knowledge on the latest online crime trends. They will also work with the SPF to engage and educate the community on cybercrime prevention measures at roadshows and various community events, Heng said.

ALSO READ: Singapore SMEs’ cyber risk awareness declines: report

“These will go hand-in-hand with SPF’s continued investments in building new capabilities to tackle new threats,” the official said.

Follow the link for more news on

cybersecurity

A NOTE FROM SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW

Reaching the people who run Asia's businesses is harder than it used to be.

Inboxes are crowded. Attention is short. The executives you most want to reach — the founders, CFOs, and operators who actually move budgets — are the hardest to find through the usual channels. If you're building a company, a category, or a reputation, you already know this.

We've spent twenty years building the room they read. Singapore Business Review is where senior decision makers in Singapore and across Southeast Asia come for business coverage they can't get elsewhere — in print, online, and in person at the summits and roundtables we host across seven markets.

If you have something these readers should know about — a point of view worth publishing, a product worth their attention, an event worth their time — we'd like to hear what you're trying to do.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia