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.