MHA May Allow Auxiliary Police Officers From More Countries In Light Of Manpower Crunch
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is looking into expanding the list of jurisdictions from which Auxiliary Police Forces (APFs) can hire officers.
This is due to a combination of reasons, such as Singapore’s shrinking workforce and the difficulty in retaining existing auxiliary police officers (APOs) from Taiwan.
Source: Certis on Facebook
MHA acknowledged the risk of arming non-Singaporeans with firearms but said they’re careful and restrictive when it comes to deploying foreign APOs.
Auxiliary police officers from Taiwan fell by 60% since 2017
Aljunied GRC MP Sylvia Lim recently posed a question to Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, asking:
- If Singapore continues to hire APOs from Taiwan
- Work challenges faced by APOs from Taiwan
- If the authorities are considering other jurisdictions for recruiting
In his written response, Mr Shanmugam shared that APFs in Singapore continue to hire Taiwanese APOs.
As of November 2023, 68% of APOs in Singapore are locals while the remaining 32% are from Malaysia and Taiwan.
He added that APFs in Singapore must recruit foreign APOs given the dual challenge that Singapore faces:
- Increasing demand for security services
- Shrinking local workforce, which makes it harder to sustain an “adequate” pool of APOs
Even though the deployment of Taiwanese APOs has, on the whole, been positive for APFs, Mr Shanmugam said it’s challenging to recruit and retain them.
In fact, the number of Taiwanese APOs has decreased by more than 60% since 2017, to about 70 today.
According to APFs, the decrease of Taiwanese APOs is due to reasons such as:
- The demanding nature of public-facing security work
- Improved job opportunities and prospects in Taiwan
- Desire to settle down with a family
- Homesickness
MHA exploring possibility of hiring auxiliary police officers from China, India, Myanmar & the Philippines
In light of this, MHA is exploring the possibility of adding other jurisdictions from which APFs can recruit APOs. Countries under consideration include:
- China
- India
- The Philippines
- Myanmar
Minister Shanmugam acknowledged that there are inherent risks to letting non-Singaporeans carry firearms.
However, he said that cases of firearm misuse by APOs are extremely rare. There’s also no evidence to suggest that such cases are more prevalent among foreign APOs.
The Home Affairs Minister also assured that such risks are managed through security screening, training, and supervision.
The authorities are also “careful” and “restrictive” about where foreign APOs are deployed.
Singapore started hiring Taiwanese APOs in 2017
Security firm Certis Cisco started hiring Taiwanese APOs in 2017 due to a labour crunch in Singapore, reports The Straits Times.
These officers were given a monthly salary of about S$2,700, which was more than two times the average graduate’s pay in Taiwan at the time.
They were also given a bonus at the end of their two-year contract.
Before this, APFs in Singapore only hired APOs from Singapore and Malaysia.
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Featured image adapted from Certis on Facebook.
