Launch of SPF’s Episodic Volunteering Programme – Speech by Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development

SPF volunteers,

SPF colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. A very good morning. It’s my pleasure to join all of you at this morning’s SPF Volunteer Networking Session. And to the ladies present here today, happy International Women’s Day!

2. This networking session aims to provide a platform to bring together new and existing volunteers, along with SPF volunteer managers and officers, to foster connections and strengthen the volunteer community within SPF. I hope that many of you here today will take the opportunity to make friends, not just with one another as fellow volunteers, but also with my SPF colleagues, so that we can find out how we can work even closer together.

Importance of SPF Volunteers

3. Volunteerism in SPF has a long history. It commenced with 150 volunteers under the Volunteer Special Constabulary Scheme in 1946. Today, we have over 9,000 volunteers across 8 different SPF volunteer schemes. While the volunteer roles and responsibilities differ across the schemes, our volunteers share the same goal of creating a safer and more secure Singapore together.

4. I am pleased to note from the recent 2024 SPF public perception survey that public trust in the SPF remains strong and high. 97% of those polled indicated that they trust the police, up from 96% in 2021. This positive outcome is only possible because of the collective effort of SPF’s regular force and volunteers working together to serve the public. Your dedication and your contributions have fostered a stronger relationship between the police and the community, demonstrating that together, we can build a safer and more secure Singapore.

5. Indeed, many of the challenges that Singapore now faces require the collective effort of the community and the SPF. Issues around racial and religious harmony aren’t just about laws and enforcement. It is about how we speak, value and respect one another. This requires the collective efforts of the community and of course, the Government and the SPF.

6. Issues around scams and the challenges we face around scams, isn’t just about laws as well as regulations, but also what we can do as a community to protect ourselves and our loved ones. So, we have to continue building on strong foundations together, to look at the challenges that we face ahead, and think about what we can do with one another, what we can do as individuals, to better protect ourselves and our loved ones.

SPF’s Volunteer Engagement Efforts

7. Over the years, the SPF has been committed to recognising and appreciating the invaluable contributions of its volunteers. Since 2022, the SPF Volunteer Appreciation Day has been held annually on 5th December to recognise the efforts of SPF volunteers. Held in conjunction with the International Volunteers’ Day, SPF presents the Outstanding Volunteer Award to its volunteers who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and made significant contributions. In 2024, a total of 173 Outstanding Volunteer Awards were presented to deserving volunteers across all of SPF’s volunteer schemes.

8. The SPF also introduced the SPF Volunteer Family Day in 2023 as a show of appreciation to volunteers and their loved ones. As we all know, family support is vital for the continued involvement of our volunteers. This year, a pair of tickets to the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest conservatories at Gardens by the Bay will be available to volunteers by application as part of this year’s Family Day initiative.

9. I am also pleased to note that SPF has put together a new digital SPF Volunteer Handbook which will be distributed to all volunteers. This comprehensive e-handbook serves as a useful resource guide to prepare our volunteers for their volunteering journey with SPF. The handbook introduces SPF to our volunteers, shares details about the different SPF volunteer schemes, and explains the various stages of a volunteer’s journey with SPF. The handbook is SPF’s latest initiative to create a positive experience for your volunteering journey and to welcome new volunteers into the SPF volunteer family.

10. True to SPF’s strong spirit of working with volunteers, this handbook is the result of the collective efforts of the SPF and volunteers. This visually appealing and informative handbook was designed by a volunteer herself - Ms. Siti Nursyazana, a teacher from Northshore Primary School. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Ms. Siti for her invaluable contributions in bringing this Volunteer Handbook to fruition.

Launch of Episodic Volunteering Programme (EVP)

11. Today’s event for SPF volunteers is also the perfect occasion for me to launch SPF’s newest volunteer scheme, the Episodic Volunteering Programme, or EVP in short. EVP provides additional opportunities for volunteers to contribute to SPF’s mission beyond the existing volunteer schemes. The EVP allows volunteers to take on short-term and flexible assignments that allow them to contribute their skills, their expertise to support SPF in a variety of roles. Since the pilot run of EVP in November 2023, more than 50 persons have contributed to SPF through this EVP in roles such as crime prevention roadshow ambassadors, digital marketing, social media content creation, band performers, amongst others. So, you can see, there is a wide range of activities that you can collaborate with SPF on, and we are hoping to reach out to fellow Singaporeans to encourage them to step forward. Given the more flexible nature of the EVP, it makes volunteering with the SPF accessible to more people, including those who might not be able to commit to long-term volunteering duties and prefer ad-hoc duties, or those who just want to have a taste of volunteering with the SPF.

12. During the pilot phase of the EVP last year, Mr Ye Wint Nyein, signed up as a cybercrime trainer to share his expertise and knowledge in the specialised field of smart contract analysis with our police officers. His sharing complemented SPF’s ongoing training initiatives to raise its officers' capabilities in tackling cybercrime, an area of growing importance in today's digital age.

13. Another EVP volunteer, Mr Zahari Abu Talib, applied his design thinking skills to work with SPF to enhance the user experience at future Police service centres.  As part of the design thinking process, Mr Zahari helped to map out service pain-points at various Neighbourhood Police Centres by engaging stakeholders to understand their perspectives on how the public could be better served. His work exemplifies how volunteers can bring useful perspectives with their expertise to enhance the delivery of police services.

Conclusion

14. In conclusion, today’s event is a celebration of your commitment as an SPF volunteer. Once again, I would like to thank you for your unwavering support and dedication. Your commitment to serving the community is an inspiration to us and many more. Your efforts have helped to strengthen the bonds between the police and the community. And I strongly believe that together, with the united effort and strength of our volunteers and the support of your families, we can continue to build a safer and more secure Singapore together. Thank you very much.