National SaferSG Awards Ceremony - Speech by Mr Goh Pei Ming, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs & Ministry of Social and Family Development

Deputy Commissioner of Police Alvin Moh SPF Officers,

Volunteers,

Partners,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very good afternoon to all of you.

I am delighted to join you today at the inaugural National SaferSG Awards Ceremony. Especially on this meaningful day – today is the International Volunteer Day. And not only are we honouring volunteers worldwide, but more importantly today, we are also recognising the dedication and commitment of all our SPF volunteers and partners. All of you embody the spirit of service and community contribution.

Appreciation of SPF Volunteers

2. Singapore is the safest city in the world – that is from the Gallup’s 2025 Global Safety Report, where Singapore is number one. In a separate report, the World Justice Project’s 2024 Order and Security Index – they have us as number two in the world. If we go by these two rankings, our strong standing, is commendable. But more importantly, it’s not just the work of SPF alone, it reflects the many decades of commitment towards community policing of the SPF. This began in the 1980s when we first had the Neighbourhood Police Post concept. The key message and lesson that we take away is this simple truth: Policing and security requires a whole-of-society effort.

3. All of you — our volunteers and partners — serve as a vital force multiplier for the SPF. You extend the SPF’s reach and impact into every single estate, every single neighbourhood. You raise public awareness of crime and security issues, you help residents protect themselves and their families, and you help to alert the police to concerns before they escalate.

4. So I want to take the opportunity to thank all of you for the countless hours you have dedicated, often quietly and without fanfare, towards building a safer home, a safer Singapore. I also would like to take the opportunity to welcome amongst you, some of the new volunteers who just joined us this year.

5. While preparing for today’s speech, I went through quite a few stories. And I am inspired by many of the stories of volunteers like yourselves. Let me share two of them and these are among today’s Outstanding SaferSG Volunteer Award recipients. First, Mr. Bhavesh Haresh Tarani. Mr Bhavesh is the youngest Citizens on Patrol (COP) award winner this year. Volunteering runs deep within his family — his father and brother are both COP members at Sembawang NPC. With their support, Bhavesh began volunteering at age 19 and today remains an active and committed COP member. Beyond just patrols, Bhavesh contributes actively at community events such as the One Canberra Family Fiesta, where he shares crime prevention tips with his fellow residents. Bhavesh, well done!

6. Another award recipient, Ms Alice Han , is an active Crime Prevention Ambassador. Over the past three years, she has conducted more than 30 crime prevention talks and exhibitions. And each of them involving more than 100 individuals. Over the past three years she has reached out to more than 3000 Singaporeans to share crime trends and prevention tips. Her commitment has also inspired other volunteers to step forward to join her and do the good work together. Alice, thank you very much.

7. These are just two of the many stories. All these stories show how every hour volunteered have helped to strengthen our community’s collective resilience towards crime, safety and building a stronger Singapore. It also deepens the important trust between the Police and the public. And I hope all these stories, especially both Bhavesh and Alice’s, will help inspire many more to join us in this collective effort to keep Singapore safe.

Appreciation of SPF Partners

8. Our organisational partners also play an essential role. You provide platforms and partnerships that enable the Police to extend their reach to wider audiences be it crime prevention, scam awareness, road safety education, or emergency preparedness.

9. The Federation of Merchants’ Associations Singapore is one such organisation. It partnered the SPF on the innovative anti-scam coffee cup initiative. This was piloted at Boon Lay Place Food Village. It leverages everyday touchpoints, bringing anti-scam messages directly into the heartlands. SPF will continue to expand this initiative across community spaces. This partnership represents creative, impactful public education efforts.

10. The BreadTalk Group is another important partner we have. They have supported SPF with spaces at their Headquarters for crime prevention roadshows. They have also rolled out anti-scam table stickers at 20 Food Junction and Food Republic outlets. This has greatly strengthened our overall ability to promote scam awareness among not just BreadTalk staff, but also patrons and customers. These are just two of many organisations, and I hope that many more will join us to help build a safer living environment.

11. At this year’s National Day Rally, PM spoke about how it is important for us to build a “We-First” society — where we take care of one another. You already embody this ethos, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for doing your part in keeping Singapore safe.

Introduction of Workplace on Watch

12. Today’s event is also important as we will also take the opportunity to launch the Workplace on Watch programme , which will take the “We-First” further. This is a new programme under the larger SaferSG movement. It will empower organisations to play an active role in crime prevention and safety awareness within their own communities of employees, stakeholders and patrons.

13. By partnering organisations on this initiative, Workplace on Watch will enable the Police to be able to tap on established networks of all our partners to reach even more people with further public education messages. These organisations can also help Police to share timely and important advisories to help strengthen awareness. Since its pilot in July this year, five organisations representing over 7,000 employees and volunteers have joined. And I hope after today, we will be able to extend this reach even further.

Conclusion

14. In closing, let me once again congratulate all award winners, volunteers, and partners. Your commitment to working together with the Police forms the bedrock of trust in our society and strengthens our mission to keep Singapore safe and secure.

15. I wish all recipients and guests an enjoyable and meaningful National SaferSG Awards Ceremony. May today’s conversations spark new ideas, new energy, new spirit of volunteerism amongst you – to deepen this shared commitment for a safer Singapore, for greater impact in our community.