SPF’s Airport Police Division is tasked to protect Singapore civil aviation against crime.
Reaching a record of 62.22 million passenger movements in 2017, Singapore Changi Airport won the title of the world’s best airport for the sixth year running in Skytrax’s 2018 survey.
With four passenger terminals in operation, Jewel Changi Airport slated to open this year, and Terminal 5 in the works, Changi Airport is a major aviation hub safeguarded by a complex security system.
To that end, the Airport Police Division (APD) of the Singapore Police Force is the authority responsible for civil aviation security, protecting Singapore’s civil aviation from crime. The division does this by deploying officers to patrol the airport.
By projecting a police presence there, the officers help to deter crime while providing aviation security advice to members of the public. In fact, a decline in the overall crime rate was noted at the airport in the past year.
Before they are deployed for frontline duties as APD Patrol Officers, Full-time Police National Service (PNSF) officers have to undergo 1½ months of training and assessment. Among their duties is proactive patrol, in which they guard public and restricted areas of the terminals in pairs to deter crimes such as shop theft.
PNSF officers are also involved in joint patrols with officers from the Singapore Armed Forces. These high-visibility joint patrols are carried out within the passenger terminal buildings. PNSF officers in APD are empowered to take charge and lead their teams in executing the patrol plans or routes.
In the event of an incident, the PNSF officers are required to be in control of the situation until the arrival of other APD ground response forces.
There is no doubt the PNSFs in APD are integral in keeping our aviation hub safe.
