Timeline
- 1820 Establishment of the Singapore Police Force 1820 - 1826
- 1826 The police force expands to fight rising crime in a flourishing town 1826 - 1872
- 1872 Modernisation under the Straits Settlements Police Force 1872 - 1942
- 1946 Restoring order in the aftermath of war 1946 - 1959
- 1959 Safeguarding the Nation’s future 1959-1965
- 1965 Securing the new Nation 1965-1983
- 1983 Partnering the community in the fight against crime 1983 - 2001
- 2001 Developing new capabilities for a new era 2001 - Present

By the 1980s, the booming economy had transformed the country and this was reflected in the new urbanised landscape. By then, three-quarters of the population were living in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats. Initiatives like the National Crime Prevention Council and Neighbourhood Watch Scheme (NWS) were launched to actively involve the public in crime prevention. These initiatives paved the way in fostering civic-mindedness and social responsibility in creating safer neighbourhoods that were instrumental for SPF’s future community projects.
Toa Payoh NPP in the 1980s. Source: SPF

Close Police-public partnership symbolised by the NPP and NPC logo. Source: SPF
On 1 June 1983, the Force launched the Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) system, as a manifestation of its transition to a proactive, community-based approach towards the practice of policing. Accompanying this was a transformation in the image of the police officer from being a feared enforcer of the law, to being a trusted member of the community. In 1997, the policing model was further developed into the Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) system which was designed to be a one-stop policing centre for the community. This system was widely successful and crime rates had dropped from 1,642 per 100,000 population to 613 per 100,000 in 2001.