If you have ever wondered what a day in the life of a Singapore Police Force (SPF) or Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer looks like, you now have a chance to experience it for yourself.
The Home Team Festival by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is making a comeback after its last event in 2019.
Source: K Shanmugam Sc on Facebook
Here, attendees can step into the world of Singapore’s Home Team officers and discover what it takes to keep our country safe and secure.
Happening from 24 to 26 Nov at the Singapore Expo, the event will be jam-packed with immersive activities, performances, and even appearances by our K-9 heroes from the SPF and SCDF.
Read on for a handy guide to all the highlights of the three-day festival.
As its name suggests, the Home Team Festival is an event that pays tribute to all Home Team officers who play a key role in keeping our country safe and secure.
It is also the largest public showcase of the Home Team’s capabilities, which are demonstrated via a combination of live shows, screenings, and interactive activities.
Look out for an operations demonstration by CNB’s Special Task Force
Image courtesy of Central Narcotics Bureau
This year’s event is particularly unique as it marks the first time that five Home Team agencies – the SPF, SCDF, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Singapore Prison Service (SPS), and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) – will combine their efforts to showcase how their work collectively keeps Singapore safe in the MHA Operations Demonstration (Ops Demo).
The Ops Demo will be available every day at different times.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore on Facebook
But you won’t just get to watch them in action – you’ll get to be part of it too, thanks to simulations and roleplay activities that mimic real-life scenarios.
At CNB Drug Buster, you’ll take on the role of a narcotics officer searching for drugs in a simulated hideout. The goal is to find all the drugs within the given time frame.
Image courtesy of Central Narcotics Bureau
At SCDF’s “Fight the Fire”, you can also experience handling a 2kg fire extinguisher and use it to put out a simulated flame. A very important life skill.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore on Facebook
Halloween may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dress up.
At the ICA Vehicle Examination booth, kids will get to don the ICA jacket and transform into a Search and Examination officer in charge of inspecting a vehicle for contraband items.
If you grew up on ‘CSI’, chances are you’ll like SPF Crime Solving & Fingerprint, where you can learn more about basic criminal forensics and create personalised bookmarks with your own fingerprints.
You’ll find more action at the SPF and SPS Shooting Range, which offers a rare chance to try firing a real weapon used by Home Team officers during public order incidents or prison riots.
Do note that this activity is only open to those 1.2 metres or taller due to safety concerns.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore on Facebook
If you’re a tech enthusiast who’s curious about the future of homeland security in Singapore, you’ll love the hands-on robotics experience.
This is where you’ll get the chance to navigate baby Rover, a quadruped robot, through different terrains.
Meet Baby Rover
Image courtesy of HTX
This experience is a sneak peek into the diverse cutting-edge science and technology solutions that HTX, the world’s first Science and Technology Agency dedicated to solutions for homeland security, is developing to enhance the Home Team’s capabilities in training and operations.
You’ll even have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the daily activities of Home Team officers, including baggage searches and firefighting, using the Home Team Simulation System developed by the Home Team Academy.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore on Facebook
While children get to try out most of the things above, there are also activities specially designed with them in mind.
There’s an entire area dedicated to families, complete with a café by Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRSG) and its very own Home Team Kids Zone.
The Home Team Kids Zone is where those between the ages of two to 12 can roleplay as different Home Team officers to extinguish digital fires, search a prison cell mock-up for contraband items, and challenge themselves to a game where they have to match Home Team agencies to their operations equipment.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore on Facebook
Above all, the little ones will most likely make a beeline for the kiddie rides, which look like mini versions of Home Team operations vehicles.
Speaking of rides, you’ll get to admire the real deal up close and personal too – SPF, SCDF, and SPS will be putting their fleet of iconic operations vehicles on display at the Home Team Festival.
Imagine yourself rushing to a crime scene with SPF’s lineup, including a Next-Generation Fast Response Car, Traffic Police Expressway Patrol Car, Traffic Police Motorcycle, and Tactical Strike Vehicle (TSV).
Out of all these, the extremely badass-looking TSV is the one you would not want to miss as it is the latest addition to the Special Operations Command’s arsenal of tactical vehicles.
Source: Singapore Police Force
Jointly developed by SPF and HTX, it is heavily fortified with a protective mesh and an armoured body for enhanced troop protection.
As for SPS, you can re-enact valiant scenes of yourself escorting inmates to prison with its Compartmentalised Inmate Transporter and Large-size Transporter.
The SCDF will also be bringing their latest Unmanned Ground Vehicles, Light-Fire Attack Vehicle, and Gen 7 Ambulance, just to name a few.
Best of all, eventgoers can get behind the wheel or pose with Home Team officers in front of the vehicles for some unforgettable photo ops.
Source: We Are Total Defence on Facebook
In between running around the different zones and trying out all the activities, you can take a breather at the stage to catch live performances.
Spectators can look forward to SGSecure skits, band performances, song performances, and K-9 shows, among others.
There are even opportunities to get up close and personal with Singapore’s four-legged heroes during the daily meet-and-greet sessions.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore on Facebook
If you swing by over the weekend, you’ll also get to partake in a follow-along cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) session. Who knows? This skill might enable you to help save a life one day.
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore on Facebook
Furthermore, there will be performance drill showcases from National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) and SCDF’s National Civil Defence Cadet Corps (NCDCC).
Last but not least, MHA’s various agencies will perform a joint operations demonstration two to three times a day.
Make sure to clear your Camera Roll sufficiently, because you’ll need the extra space to fit all the cool photos you’ll be taking.
With so many activities, performances, and Instagram-worthy moments to look forward to at the Home Team Festival, it helps to have all the information in one spot so you can make the most of your outing.
To that end, MHA has developed an app that lets you do just that. The Home Team Festival app will be available for download from the App Store or Google Play from 21 Nov so you can stay on top of all the latest updates.
Once you’ve downloaded the app, take note of all the essential details before setting off for the event:
Home Team Festival
Address: Singapore Expo Hall 4, 1 Expo Drive, Singapore 486150
Dates: 24 – 26 Nov
Time: 11am – 9pm (24 & 25 Nov), 9am – 9pm (26 Nov)
Nearest MRT station: Expo
For more information on the Home Team Festival, visit MHA’s official website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
Safety and security can feel like a given when we wake up each day in peace and stability.
In reality, it is the result of ongoing efforts by those who work silently and tirelessly to safeguard our country.
That said, it is not just the ones in uniform who get the job done. It is also our duty as members of the community to step up and lend a hand – after all, we are at our strongest when we are together.
This post was brought to you in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Featured image adapted from Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore on Facebook and Facebook.
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