Guardians of Our Home: Leading with a Cause

For Jogesh Nambiar, intelligence work is all about safeguarding our homes and neighbourhoods from crime. As the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Intelligence Analysis & Processing Section of Jurong Police Division, he leads a team of nine fellow civilian officers who review data from a range of sources to provide vital intelligence to investigators and uniformed officers. 

Analysing Crime Trends in the West
Did you know that Jurong Police Division serves a population of over 730,000 residents and covers industrial areas in Boon Lay and Tuas, long coastal stretches and the heartland centres of Jurong West, Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang? 

Due to its size and mix of industrial and residential spaces, Jurong Division presents unique operational considerations when it comes to law enforcement. This is where much of Jogesh’s attention is focused; a typical week for his team involves reviewing the offences that have taken place within Jurong Division, to find trends and areas of concern.

“We analyse crime-related information from various sources and look at every single change over a given period, be it an increase or decrease in certain types of offences,” explained Jogesh. “We will then determine the reasons behind the change and make recommendations that help to prevent, deter and detect crime.” 

Navigating the Leadership Journey 
Having graduated from the National University of Singapore with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Jogesh joined the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in 2008 as a civilian intelligence officer. He served with the Police Intelligence Department (which is responsible for the specialised field of intelligence for SPF) before taking the next step in his leadership journey in 2020 by assuming the OC role at Jurong Division. 

“Now that I’m a supervisor,” he explained, “I continue to develop my understanding of how I can better harness my team members’ strengths so that we can work together to deliver the best outcomes.” 

According to Jogesh, intelligence work at the Divisional level is focused on crimes within the community. “As part of our work, we may track hotspots for offences like shop theft and bicycle theft, and also other types of crime, like scams, within Jurong Division,” he explained. “This information is then shared with our uniformed counterparts at our weekly briefings, and may result in us stepping up ground patrols or taking other measures on the ground.”

In certain instances, intelligence insights can also allow officers to take a more case-specific approach to curbing crime. “For example, if we come across offenders who may benefit from social assistance and other forms of support, we can refer them to the appropriate public agency or social service agency,” explained Jogesh. 

Getting the Big Picture on Crime
Besides addressing offences that are of immediate concern to residents, Jogesh and his team are committed to tapping on intelligence to get a broader picture of crime trends in the Division. “We may conduct further reviews and probes to get a deeper understanding of why certain offences occur,” he shared. “This helps us to make recommendations that are more comprehensive in scope.”

Another highlight of Jogesh’s work is helping to lead the Division’s digital transformation efforts. “Digitalisation helps us by streamlining the data preparation process, allowing us to analyse data and conduct sensemaking much faster,” said Jogesh. “Similarly, data visualisation tools like Tableau help us present and map information in a more palatable way, ensuring a better understanding of essential information by our fellow officers.” 

For Jogesh, being aware of the bigger picture has been essential in his own leadership journey in the Home Team. “We work in a fast-paced, constantly evolving environment,” he said. “This means we’re kept on our toes as we learn new skills and put them into action. A keen sense of awareness about our surroundings enables us to succeed in this volatile landscape.”

Guardians of Our Home

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MHA Civilian Scholarship
The MHA Civilian Scholarship is awarded to outstanding individuals who are passionate about strengthening Singapore’s security and public safety. This civilian scholarship offers six career tracks: a Generalist track and five Specialist tracks: Intelligence; Psychology; Commercial Affairs; Science and Technology; and Internal Security. Applications are now open! Learn more about the MHA Civilian Scholarships!