SINGAPORE - For the second year running, the police division that serves the largest group of residents here has clinched a top policing award.

The Best Land Division award was given to Ang Mo Kio Police Division by Second Minister for Home Affairs S Iswaran at the Home Team Academy on Tuesday, as part of Police Day Parade 2014.

The division is led by Superintendent of Police Leon Chan, 33, who heads about 1,200 officers serving more than 1.4 million residents across seven housing estates.

Crime in the division fell more than 16 per cent - or 916 cases - last year, with fewer cases registered in each of the five preventable crime classes. These included a 61 per cent drop in housebreaking and theft and a 45 per cent drop in motor vehicle theft.

Supt Chan said his officers' efforts against loan shark operators in the "heartland division" have also yielded good results, with the number of harassment cases falling by a quarter last year.

"The division believes very strongly in teamwork," said Supt Chan. "Across all the units, we have a lot of collaborative work and we don't compete for cases. The other strength of the division is our engagement with the community, which we invest a lot in, as well as our investment in systems, such as the community policing system as well as our new police cameras."

Other awards handed out included the Best National Service Operationally Ready Unit, which went to Central Police Division, and the Best Volunteer Special Constabulary Unit, which went to Bedok Police Division.