Overview of safety and security situation in 2025

Singapore Remained Safe and Secure in 2025

1. The Home Team continued to keep Singapore safe and secure in 2025. Singapore remained as one of the safest countries in the world ^{[1] [2]}. Singapore also continued to have one of the lowest fire fatality rates ^[3] in the world ^[4].

Key Improvements

2. Crimes of concern such as shop theft and voyeurism saw a decrease, though the number of physical crimes saw a slight increase. The number of reported scam cases and the total amount reported lost to scams have also decreased.

3. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) recorded decreases in fires involving vehicles and Active Mobility Devices (AMDs), although it remains an area of concern due to the risk of rapid fire spread within confined spaces. There was also an encouraging increase in responses by Community First Responders to cardiac arrest and minor fire incidents.

4. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) saw an increase in traveller volume in 2025 as compared to 2024, largely due to the rise in the number of land travellers. Despite the higher traveller volume, border security enforcement remained effective. This was reflected in a significant increase in the number of foreign visitors who were refused entry into Singapore and the number of contraband items detected at the checkpoints in 2025. These outcomes were possible due to the targeting capabilities of ICA’s Integrated Targeting Centre and the profiling efforts of ICA officers at the checkpoints.

5. The total number of immigration offenders remained consistent, with a decrease in the number of illegal immigrants and an increase in the number of overstayers arrested. The number of persons arrested for harbouring or employing immigration offenders, and those arrested for marriage of convenience-related offences also decreased in 2025.

6. The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) continued to keep our prisons safe and secure. There were zero escapes, and the assault rates per 10,000 inmates remained low compared to other correctional jurisdictions. To strengthen its ability to detect and respond to assaults in prisons, SPS rolled out a range of initiatives to address violence and gangs, promote restorative practices, and leverage technology to enhance its operational effectiveness.

7. The overall two-year recidivism rate for the Release Cohort 2023 remained low, and the two-year recidivism rate for Drug Rehabilitation Centre inmates has decreased, with fewer drug abusers re-offending within two years of their release. The overall five-year recidivism rate remained stable. SPS will continue to strengthen community partnerships to build a more sustainable support ecosystem for the inmates and ex-offenders, and facilitate their rehabilitation and reintegration back into the community.

Challenging Regional Drug Situation

8. The global and regional drug situation continued to worsen. Illicit drug markets overseas continued to expand, and the volume of drugs manufactured and scale of drug trafficking in our region remained significant. Drug syndicates and those with vested interests, such as manufacturers, are constantly seeking ways to expand their operations. This includes exploiting online platforms and chat applications to spread misinformation about the benefits of illicit drugs and promote its sale.

9. Against this backdrop, Singapore’s drug situation has remained relatively stable. There was a slight increase in the number of drug abusers arrested, and methamphetamine, heroin and cannabis continued to be the most commonly abused drugs among them.

10. Young abusers remained a key concern. The number of new young abusers below 30 years old arrested in 2025 increased from 2024, and more than half of the cannabis abusers arrested were below 30 years old. Hence, besides tough laws and rigorous enforcement, CNB continues to emphasise preventive drug education to raise awareness on the harms of drugs. The community too has a part to play to advocate for a drug-free Singapore.

11. CNB will continue its rigorous enforcement actions against organised criminal syndicates, including those operating from overseas and targeting the Singapore market through encrypted platforms.

Scams Remain a Priority

12. Scams continue to be a key concern and a priority for the Government, even though the number of reported cases and the total amount reported lost to scams have decreased. The median amount lost per case increased. In 2025, the top five scam types in terms of number of cases were e-commerce scam, phishing scam, job scam, investment scam, and government official impersonation scam. The top five scam types in terms of amount lost were investment scam, government official impersonation scam, job scam, phishing scam, and business email compromise scam. The majority of scam victims were aged below 50 in 2025. The Government will continue with the anti-scam efforts. Individuals must also play their part, stay vigilant and consider adopting anti-scam measures to protect themselves against scams.

Terrorism Threat Remains High

13. The terrorism threat to Singapore remains high, with online self-radicalisation continuing to be the primary driver. In 2025, six self-radicalised individuals were issued with orders under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Of them, four were youths aged 20 or younger. We continue to be concerned with youth radicalisation in Singapore, with a worrying trend of those radicalised getting younger. Over the past two years, three 14-year-olds were dealt under the ISA for terrorism-related activities. We urge the public to seek help from the authorities early if they suspect that somebody close to them might be radicalised.

14. The SGSecure ^[5] movement continues to be relevant in the face of the terrorism threat. In the last year, the movement engaged Singaporeans across various age groups and from all walks of life to play a part in our fight against terrorism – including through roadshows, grassroots events, engagements in schools and Institutes of Higher Learning, community response roundtables, and even through a storybook for pre-schoolers.

Other Trends of Concern

15. In 2025, the number of outrage of modesty cases registered an increase.

16. More speeding violation cases were also detected in 2025 due to intensified speed enforcement measures. A large proportion of such cases were detected by speed enforcement operations, which indicate that speed compliance remained poor at locations where there were no speed enforcement cameras. Motorcyclists and elderly pedestrians continued to account for a disproportionate number of traffic accidents and fatalities.

17. The SCDF saw a slight increase in the overall number of fires in 2025. Fires due to unattended cooking and electrical origin remained the top two causes of fires in residential premises. The number of Emergency Medical Services calls also increased in 2025 and is expected to continue trending upwards with our ageing population.

18. In the year ahead, the Home Team will continue to work with our partners and the community to keep Singapore safe and secure.

[1] Singapore was ranked second in the Law and Order Index in Gallup’s 2025 Global Safety Report, which was calculated based on data collected from a survey conducted among the adult population aged 15 years and older in 140 countries and areas in 2024.

[2] Singapore was ranked second in the World Justice Project (WJP) for Order and Security in 2025, which is one of eight foundational factors used in the annual WJP Index to evaluate the rule of law across 143 countries and jurisdictions.

[3] Per 100,000 population.

[4] Based on the World Fire Statistics 2025 report which is published annually and contains international fire statistics compiled over a five-year period.

[5] SGSecure is a national movement to prepare the community for the threat of terrorism. It is led by MHA and supported by agencies across six domains, namely, Community Groups (MCCY), the Media (MDDI), NS Community (MINDEF), Schools (MOE), Workplaces (MOM) and Neighbourhoods (PA).

N.B.

Following the release of this Overview, the various Home Team Departments will be releasing their annual statistics from 9 to 26 February 2026.