SINGAPORE - Police had to ramp up crime awareness during the Covid-19 pandemic as scammers targeted unwitting victims, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Zed Teo.
Scammers had moved to e-commerce sites and claimed to be selling masks and hand sanitisers, he told the media earlier this week.
"A lot of activities moved from the physical world to the online world, and crime is no exception... With the changing modus operandi of criminals, so too must the police with our strategies (to) address this proliferation of online scams," said AC Teo.
He noted that scams were on the rise last year, making up 42 per cent of overall crime in 2020. This was up from 27.2 per cent in 2019.
He added that aside from fighting crime, officers had supported Covid-19 operations at the migrant worker dormitories. "Like other front-line workers, our officers grappled with the anxieties over their risk of infection. Nonetheless, our officers rose to the challenge and responded to the call of duty."
As part of efforts to educate the public on how to detect scams, Ang Mo Kio Police Division went online to engage with the community. Officers did so through video link as well as Instagram accounts and Facebook groups.
The division also collaborated with Pave Integrated Services for Individual and Family Protection Specialist Centre to produce an educational pictorial book called A Day With Bob to encourage children to speak up about family violence.
AC Teo is commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division, which won the Best Land Division award on Police Day on Thursday (June 3).
The Best NS Operationally Ready Unit award went to the Jurong Police Division for the third consecutive year.
Owing to Covid-19 restrictions, the Police Day Observance Ceremony was held virtually and did not feature the usual Police Day Parade. More than 2,200 officers, however, attended the ceremony.
A video titled Our People, Our Heartware was also played at the ceremony and has been uploaded to the Facebook page of the Singapore Police Force. Among other things, it depicts some of the difficult decisions officers have to make in carrying out their duties to keep Singapore safe.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared the video and said it captures the tough judgment calls police officers face in the line of duty.
"The Singapore Police Force enjoys high trust and confidence among the Singapore public. It is the result of years of disciplined, effective policing, and nurturing of close community relations... Beyond maintaining law and order, police have also been serving on the pandemic front lines. Plus they often have to deal with brickbats and worse on social media.
"One word to describe what the SPF means to me is 'dedication'," wrote PM Lee.
