Minister’s Award Presentation Ceremony 2026 - Speech by Mr K Shanmugam, Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs

2M Sim Ann

Home Team colleagues

Partners

Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

1. Very good afternoon to all of you. We are gathered here to honour and celebrate our officers, teams for their excellent, outstanding work.

2. But before I speak about the awards themselves, I will, as usual, make some comments about the law and order situation in Singapore – update by reference to our latest findings.

3. Last year’s Gallup Global Safety Report – it has 98% of respondents from Singapore saying that they felt safe walking home, or anywhere, alone at night. And trust in the Home Team remains exceptionally high. Last year’s public perception survey, 2025, shows almost 95% of respondents were confident in the Home Team’s ability to keep Singapore safe and secure. This is the highest score in the last 10 years. And you know I can go on for more such statistics. But essentially, the tremendous work that has been put in, being transparent, and we have made mistakes, been open about it, going about our work in a way with technology that makes people understand the work we do, appreciate it, but also put in real hard work shows – I mean, these are exceptional scores. Anywhere in the Western world, anywhere in the developing world, you would not expect to score more than 70%, even in very well-run countries.

4. So these are the results of the hard work of our officers, the support of our partners and our sustained investment in technology over many years.

5. We will today recognise some of the best work across the Home Team and the officers behind them. The awards cover major operations, emergency response, fighting scams and drugs, new technology, and better ways of serving the public. If you look across the recipients, three qualities stand out. First, a strong sense of mission. When there is a difficult situation, our officers step forward. They take responsibility, they get the work done. Second, teamwork. The agencies work together as one with other Government agencies and our partners, both within Singapore and outside of Singapore. And third, the agility to adapt. Criminals are quick to exploit new technology, and we ourselves have to continue to develop new capabilities to be able to respond strongly and effectively. And that requires sustained investment.

Sensors and Technology in the Home Team

6. One key technology investment that we have made is our deployment and use of sensors. Sensors to give us timely and reliable information. The sensors alert us to an incident, they show us what happened, they help to identify those involved and provide an objective record of events. They help our officers respond faster and deploy our resources more effectively.

7. Home Team uses many sensors today – in emergency response, on the roads, at our checkpoints, along our coastlines, and in the skies. Take one example, PolCam – Police cameras - in public places. Earlier this year, the Police received a report of a man suspected of having a gun. Our officers used the PolCam images, established his identity. They arrested him within eight hours. More investigations then led to four more persons being arrested. More weapons were seized, together with etomidate vape pods, suspected drugs and drug paraphernalia. PolCam has helped us solve more than ten thousand criminal cases.

8. Singaporeans understand the value of these cameras in keeping Singapore safe. By the middle of 2030s, the Police plan to deploy more than two hundred thousand PolCam islandwide. That is one example of how we strengthen our capabilities, and stay ahead of criminals.

9. The same applies to Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) 2. From January 2027, Home Team will use ERP 2 data to both detect and solve crime. Today, under the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and other legislation, our law enforcement agencies have the powers to access documents, records for enforcement purposes, including investigations. We can also question individuals. And in Singapore, under our law, there is a general duty to answer when you are asked by law enforcement agencies. It is also an offence to lie under oath, or deliberately mislead our enforcement officers. Using data from sensors, including ERP 2 data, is simply another way of getting to the truth much faster.

Technology with a Clear Operational Purpose

10. I will mention two other examples of our technology investments. First, Project HT SkyGuardian. The Police, SCDF, HTX have all worked together to develop advanced drone capabilities. They now allow for autonomous aerial surveillance and they support rapid incident response and the delivery of life-saving equipment where needed. Second, the Integrated Smart Document Management System, or iSMART. This is for secure self-collection of passports and identity cards. ICA and HTX combined robotics, automation, and biometric verification. Average service time has gone down from 11 minutes to 5 minutes. Number of officers we needed to provide this service has gone from 20 officers to now 5. Faster and more efficient – results of investing in technology, using it with a clear purpose.

Operational Excellence: Delivering When It Matters

11.  Beyond new capabilities, we also have to deliver results on the ground. I will share a few major examples. First, there was a major bus accident at Jurong West Avenue 1, with 44 casualties. Many agencies came together, for coordinated medical and rescue operations: SCDF, Police, NEA, LTA, SBS Transit, and Tower Transit. It is not easy to do this well. It needs trust, built well before the emergency occurs, professional standards, good training, and clear command and control.

12. Second, Operation Apollo Blaze. There were scam syndicates using gateway machines to route scam calls through local phone lines. Overseas calls then appeared to victims as local calls. Syndicates were responsible for more than $4 million in scam losses in Singapore. SPF worked closely with the Cyber Security Agency, the Hong Kong Police Force, and the Royal Malaysia Police to act against these syndicates. Operation resulted in twelve arrests across three jurisdictions. This was our first successful breakthrough against such syndicates.

13. Third, our DrugFreeSG Champions. They bring together agencies across the Government and the community. They share evidence-based messages to youths within their own circles of influence to stay drug-free. All these examples show that we achieve better outcomes when agencies and partners work together.

Our People Make the Difference

14. Our officers are at the heart of everything we do, they are central. They exercise judgment. They take responsibility. And they serve with care. Let me give an example from Prisons. Muhammad Syazwan Bin Hussain is a Reintegration Officer. A supervisee under his care was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. Syazwan accompanied him for his medical appointments, helped to secure his early discharge. He identified and engaged a relative who could care for the individual. He brought together a halfway house, a hospice team, and medical social workers to coordinate the care. Syazwan continued to check in on the supervisee even after he was discharged, until the supervisee passed away. He made sure the supervisee did not face his final months alone. It is very touching.

15. Another example is James Chong. He is a Senior Emergency Medical Technician with SCDF. He has responded to thirteen MyResponder cases in his own time. This includes performing CPR on a cardiac arrest victim before assisting the patient’s transfer to an ambulance. On another occasion, James had conveyed a child to the hospital. He saw that the mother could not leave the bedside to complete the admission process, and he queued on her behalf so she could remain with her child. These officers exemplify the very best in Home Team.

Conclusion

16. Singaporeans trust the Home Team for good reasons. At the individual level, officers like Syazwan and James build that trust one case at a time. As an organisation, we earn that trust through results and by using the powers entrusted to us responsibly. We have to continue to safeguard that trust through our sense of mission, teamwork and agility to adapt.

17. Congratulations once again to all our award recipients and to all who have supported them. Thank you.