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SINGAPORE: Officers from Singapore's Home Team are reminded that mistakes must be addressed and they should strive for balance in all that they do.
Speaking at his Ministry's National Day observance ceremony on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said officers must take ownership and account for their mistakes, which cannot be swept under the carpet.
His call came in the wake of incidents which have put the work of the Ministry of Home Affairs under public scrutiny. These include the escape of Jemaah Islamiyah leader, Mas Selamat Kastari, from Whitley Road Detention Centre earlier this year.
Mr Wong said: "Some of you may be concerned that you would be penalised harshly if you make a mistake, so much so that your focus is on avoiding mistakes, rather than in making positive arrests and detections.
"I do appreciate and understand your concerns. Let me assure all Home Team officers that we will always observe the need for pragmatic balance in all that we do. But I also assure you that how the officers responsible will be taken to task will always be fair and just.
"Commanders will ultimately be liable and assessed on the quality of their leadership as reflected in the performance of their officers, as well as the manner in which they address problems and adversity."
On a separate note, several public-spirited citizens were commended on Thursday for their role in preventing crime.
Mr Wong said there was a marginal one per cent increase in crime cases for the first half of the year. Housebreaking and related crimes dipped by 22 per cent this year, compared to the same period in 2007.
"While fire calls have increased fractionally, the number of fires within residential premises fell. Fires involving household contents and unattended cooking fell by 23 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.
"Civil Defence Force's preventive education efforts, together with the National Fire and Emergency Preparedness Council and its community partners, seem to have paid off. Equally encouraging is the 11 per cent fall in fires involving non-residential buildings, including commercial and industrial premises," he said.
The drug abuse situation in Singapore has also seen an improvement. But Mr Wong said the Central Narcotics Bureau needs to keep an eye on inhalant abuse, especially among the youths in school – many of whom are first timers.
On security checks, he said: "At the checkpoints, the enhanced security checks and sustained vigilance garnered positive results for the first half of this year.
"The number of illegal offenders arrested at the checkpoints plunged by almost 41 per cent, compared to the same period last year. Seizures of contraband remain high as 17,700 contraband smuggling cases were detected in the first half of the year."
- CNA/so
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