SG Secure in the Neighbourhood: Building a Community of Prepared Citizens

1. The plans for "SG Secure in the Neighbourhood" were unveiled today at the inaugural revamped Emergency Preparedness Day held at Chong Pang constituency.  "SG Secure in the Neighbourhood" aims to build a community of prepared citizens by equipping residents with skills and knowledge to respond effectively in the event of a terrorist attack.

SG Secure in the Neighbourhood

2. The "SG Secure in the Neighbourhood" initiative builds on the Community Engagement Programme (CEP), launched in 2007, that built trust and harmony across different races and religions. Against the backdrop of the current security climate, SG Secure has a sharper counter-terrorism focus, specifically on community vigilance and community resilience, while still retaining a strong community cohesion focus.

3. A key feature of "SG Secure in the Neighbourhood" is the collaborative efforts of various parties; volunteers from the People's Association (PA) and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), Home Team National Service personnel from the Singapore Police Force (SPF)'s Community Engagement vocation and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)'s Public Shelter and Resilience Unit.

4. Home Team NS officers, together with PA grassroots volunteers, will conduct ground outreach to raise residents' awareness of the SG Secure movement, provide residents with tips on how they should respond in a terrorist attack and how to be better prepared for crisis and emergencies.

5. There will be 6 pilot constituencies for "SG Secure in the Neighbourhood", namely, Jurong Spring, Toa Payoh West-Balestier, Bedok, Pasir Ris West and Nee Soon South.

6. A highlight of the "SG Secure in the Neighbourhood" programme is the revamped Emergency Preparedness (EP) Day.  Compared to previous EP days, the revamped EP Day will have a stronger hands-on focus where residents will learn skills such as first-aid and CPR/AED and participate in a scenario drill to familiarise themselves on what they should do in the event of an attack.

7. Following the outcome of the six pilots, we will fine-tune our programme and implement this progressively in the other 83 constituencies.

8. Minister for Home Affairs and Law and Adviser to Nee Soon GRC Grassroots Organisations, Mr K Shanmugam, officiated at the revamped EP Day at Chong Pang constituency this morning. Senior Minister of State and Adviser to Jurong GRC Grassroots Organisations, Mr Desmond Lee, will officiate at the revamped EP Day at the Jurong Spring Community Centre on Sunday 29 May 2016. The revamped EP Days at Chong Pang and Jurong Spring will have 'live' scenario drills simulating terrorist attacks and hostage-taking situations in a neighbourhood setting. These drills will feature the operations of SPF's Emergency Response Team and SCDF's paramedics as well as involve residents in performing CPR and first aid on the 'injured'.

9. Minister K Shanmugam said: "We want to create a community of prepared citizens who know how to respond effectively to a terrorist attack and who will stay united in the aftermath of one. The Government's response to counter-terrorism is not enough.  We need the strong support of the community to keep Singapore safe and secure."

10. Chief Executive Director of the PA, Mr Ang Hak Seng said: "In the aftermath of a terrorist incident, grassroots leaders will help restore calm and confidence in the community. We urge residents to step forward and work hand in hand with us so that together, we can overcome the challenges that may come our way."

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About SG Secure

SG Secure is a national movement to sensitise, train and mobilise Singaporeans to play a part to prevent and deal with a terrorist attack. It is the community's response to safeguard our way of life against terrorism and community strife. Government's response alone is not enough.

Every member of the community must do his part by staying alert to ever-present security threats, staying united as one people during peacetime and in crisis, and staying strong to be resilient and bounce back quickly in a crisis. For more information, visit www.sgsecure.sg .