Press Releases
Large Majority of People in the Region Agree That Singapore’s Strict Laws Deter Drug Trafficking
26 August 2025
1. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) conducted a survey in 2024 to better understand the perceptions of people living in the region on Singapore’s crime situation and laws.
2. The survey showed that the majority of them:
(a) perceive Singapore to be safe;
(b) are aware of the laws in Singapore against serious crimes, in particular the use of the death penalty; and
(c) believe that Singapore’s laws and law enforcement system, including the use of the death penalty, are effective in deterring serious crimes such as the trafficking of drugs.
3. A survey company was appointed to conduct an online survey of 12,000 respondents, aged 20 to 64, from six regional cities (i.e., about 2,000 respondents per city). The six regional cities were selected because there were significant numbers of visitors from these cities to Singapore in recent years.
4. This is the second edition of the survey, after the first survey in 2018, and incorporated several methodological enhancements [1] . The 2024 survey report can be accessed at MHA’s website under the ‘Publications’ section, or via the link in the Annex .
Key Findings
Large Majority of Respondents Perceive Singapore to be a Safe Country
5. The large majority of respondents perceived Singapore to be a safe country in the 2024 survey. Specifically:
(a) 82.3% of respondents indicated that they felt safe if/when they travelled in Singapore; and
(b) 87.3% of respondents trusted law enforcement officers in Singapore to keep them safe if/when they were in Singapore.
Very High Awareness of Laws against Serious Crimes in Singapore
6. The 2024 survey found that there was high awareness of the laws and penalties against serious crimes in Singapore:
(a) 95.0% of respondents were aware that drug consumption is a crime in Singapore;
(b) 95.2% of respondents were aware that drug trafficking is a crime in Singapore;
(c) 85.6% of respondents were aware that people can receive the death penalty for committing serious crimes in general in Singapore (e.g., intentional murder, smuggling firearms); and
(d) 86.8% of respondents were aware that people can receive the death penalty for trafficking a substantial amount of drugs in Singapore.
7. In addition, 75.6% of the respondents were aware that over the past year preceding the survey, there were executions carried out in Singapore for offences that involved the trafficking of a substantial amount of drugs into Singapore.
Large Majority of Respondents Agreed that Singapore’s Laws Deter Crime and that Singapore’s Law Enforcement Efforts are Effective
8. The large majority of respondents in the 2024 survey agreed that Singapore’s strict laws help to deter crime:
(a) 89.6% of respondents believed that Singapore’s laws against crimes are strict;
(b) 88.6% of respondents believed that the strict laws have been effective in preventing crime; and
(c) 84.7% of respondents believed that people would hesitate before committing crimes in Singapore due to these strict laws.
9. The large majority of respondents also believed that the law enforcement system in Singapore is effective:
(a) 86.8% of respondents believed that law enforcement officers in Singapore are effective in catching people who have committed crimes;
(b) Most respondents believed that people would likely be caught if they committed a crime (87.9%), consumed drugs (86.4%) or got involved in drug trafficking activities (89.6%) in Singapore.
(c) Most respondents believed that people would likely be punished if they were caught for committing a crime (90.3%), consuming drugs (88.2%) or being involved in drug trafficking activities (91.0%) in Singapore.
Large Majority of Respondents Agreed that the Death Penalty is an Effective Deterrent against Serious Crimes and is more Effective than Life Imprisonment
10. The large majority of respondents agreed that the death penalty is an effective deterrent against serious crimes in Singapore:
(a) 83.9% of respondents believed that the death penalty deters people from committing serious crimes in general in Singapore;
(b) 84.2% of respondents believed that the death penalty deters people from trafficking substantial amounts of drugs into Singapore; and
(c) 82.1% of respondents believed that the executions of drug traffickers in Singapore over the past year have deterred people from trafficking substantial amounts of drugs into Singapore.
11. The large majority of respondents also believed that the death penalty is more effective than life imprisonment in deterring serious crimes in Singapore:
(a) 81.0% of respondents believed that the death penalty is a more effective deterrent than life imprisonment in discouraging people from committing serious crimes in general in Singapore (e.g. intentional murder, smuggling firearms); and
(b) 82.5% of respondents believed that the death penalty is a more effective deterrent than life imprisonment in discouraging people from trafficking drugs into Singapore.
Majority of Respondents Agreed that Singapore’s Criminal Justice System and Courts are Fair
12. The majority of respondents agreed that the criminal justice system in Singapore and the Singapore Courts are fair:
(a) 79.4% of respondents believed that the criminal justice system in Singapore is fair to all; and
(b) 80.4% of respondents believed that the Singapore Courts acts fairly.
Conclusion
13. In summary, the findings from the 2024 survey found that the large majority of people living in regional cities continue to have favourable perceptions of Singapore’s safety and security, are highly aware of the laws against serious crimes in Singapore, and believe that Singapore’s laws and law enforcement system are effective in deterring serious crimes.
14. In particular, they believe that the death penalty deters serious crimes in Singapore, including the trafficking of drugs, and is a more effective deterrent than life imprisonment.
Annexes
[1] Given the various methodological changes, not all the findings from the 2024 survey may be directly comparable with those from the 2018 survey.