More than 3,500 police officers will receive training to handle family violence cases better.

They will learn about the impact of family violence and the social services in place to manage such cases in Singapore.

In addition to this training, which is conducted by the Social Service Institute, a group of selected police officers will also undergo additional training on laws regarding family violence and pick up skills to engage with victims sensitively during their investigations.

This was one of several recommendations the family violence task force made to strengthen protection and support services for victims to reduce their risk of being harmed again.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, who co-chairs the task force, noted that the initiative would help police officers collaborate with other agencies early in the investigation process.

"With the understanding of the landscape and issues relating to family violence, we believe this will better equip our police officers to do their work and support other agencies, not only to mitigate but also stop family violence," he said.

The Government is also considering giving more teeth to laws ensuring protection for victims, such as harsher penalties for breach of a personal protection order (PPO) and empowering the relevant authorities to apply for PPOs for family violence victims as a third-party.

Noting that the penalties for breaching a PPO have not changed since 1996, the task force recommended that they be brought in line with penalties for breach of the Protection from Harassment Act (Poha).

Currently, those who breach a PPO may be fined $2,000 or jailed for up to six months if the order does not relate to a vulnerable adult. Those who breach an order under Poha against an intimate partner may be fined up to $10,000, jailed up to 12 months, or both.

The task force also suggested amending the Women's Charter to introduce new types of orders to ensure victims' safety.

These include orders prohibiting the perpetrator from visiting or communicating with the victim, or entering an area outside the victim's residence.

A total of 312 PPOs were granted between June and August last year right after the circuit breaker period, up from the 229 PPOs from January to March last year.

Under the recommendations, the Director-General of Social Welfare and officers from the Ministry of Social and Family Development can apply for PPOs for victims of family violence in high-risk circumstances if they do not file one themselves due to fear or the undue influence of the perpetrator.

Dr Sudha Nair, executive director of family violence specialist centre Pave, said the recommendation is useful when engaging victims whose lives are at risk.

She said: "I think one of the major issues that we see with a small number of families is where you have situations of Stockholm syndrome, where the victim is not in a position to make decisions because of the undue influence of the perpetrator."

Stockholm syndrome refers to an emotional response which happens to some abuse victims when they have positive feelings or sympathy towards an abuser.

"In a situation like that, we would want to ensure the person's life, and therefore, that would be an instance where this kind of PPO would be very useful," Dr Sudha added.

In making the recommendation, the task force also noted that third-party PPO applications should be made only in exceptional circumstances where the victim's safety is seriously threatened.