Spear: Only select few make it to prisons’ elite tactical unit after rigorous training

SINGAPORE - After nearly eight hours of gruelling physical endurance and cognitive tasks, only one out of five candidates remained at the Singapore Prisons Emergency Action Response (Spear) selection test.

Officers from the elite tactical unit of the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) are trained to quell prison riots, relocate violent inmates, and escort high-risk inmates to places such as hospitals for medical treatment, and to the courts.

Caning of inmates is also carried out by specially trained Spear officers. There are currently about 70 Spear officers in Singapore.

To ensure they can handle the pressure that Spear officers are expected to face, candidates are put through a rigorous selection process that tests their physical and mental prowess.

They have to navigate a 500m standard obstacle course that includes monkey bars and a high wall; run 2km while wearing a weighted vest and a respirator mask; sprint 400m, then climb seven flights of stairs while carrying a total of 15kg of weights in both hands.

After each physical task, the candidates’ cognitive abilities are tested.

These include memory challenges and psychometric tests to determine their habits, perceptions and situational awareness.

They are then tested on their teamwork, carrying a dummy meant to simulate an injured prisoner through an obstacle course, and marching over 3km with weighted backpacks.

The media was invited to observe the entire process on Oct 1.

Sergeant Fariduddin Shahruddin, 27, was the only candidate to complete the selection process. He will find out later this week if he passed the test. The minimum score a candidate needs to pass is undisclosed.

An SPS spokesman said one candidate withdrew for medical reasons by 9am after taking his Individual Physical Proficiency Test. Three others dropped out at different stages of the test.

Although the Spear selection test is open to all SPS officers, the elite unit receives only about 20 to 25 applicants when it holds three selection tests each year.

An even smaller number will become Spear officers.

The selection process has a passing rate of just 30 per cent, the spokesman added.

If Sgt Fariduddin is among the 30 per cent, he will have to undergo and complete a 20-week Spear tactical course to become a full-fledged Spear officer.

The spokesman said the passing rate for the tactical course is nearly 100 per cent as only the most suitable candidates from the selection test are chosen.

Chief Warder Toh Hengli, a Spear trainer, said the tasks in the selection test are designed to resemble the prison environment that candidates could face if they become full-fledged officers.

“One must possess a high level of physical attributes because of the demanding environment of the job. They must also be strong mentally and not break down when facing challenges and (be able to) work under stress,” he said.

He added that Spear officers are activated for duty once every fortnight on average. The rest of their time is spent training.

Unlike prison officers, Spear officers are equipped with a Tactical Electronic Distraction Device that can emit screeching sounds of up to 120dB and bright lights designed to distract inmates.

They are also required to take on heavier loads such as breaching gear, which require candidates to possess a basic level of physical proficiency, said CW Toh.

These can also include protective helmets, anti-stab vests, and fire retardant attire.

The elite tactical unit was formed in 1977, when the team was known as the Special Action Prisons Unit and trained by commandos from the Singapore Armed Forces.

Today, the unit has its own dedicated base and trainers at the Changi Prison Complex, with multiple training facilities that simulate a prison environment.

Officers from the elite unit help to conduct escorts of high-security inmates and also respond to any disturbances in prison.

Over the years, prison riots have broken out around the world, resulting in the deaths of security personnel and inmates.

The only recorded riot in a Singapore prison was at the open-air prison on Pulau Senang in 1963. Four prison officers were killed in the riot, with 18 prisoners eventually found guilty of murder and executed.

In 2021, at least 68 inmates were killed in

Ecuador’s Penitenciaria del Litoral prison

after a fight between rival gangs. Just months earlier, at least 119 inmates had died in the same prison after another gang fight.

In December 2021, hundreds of prisoners set fire to a

Thai jail during a two-day riot

over the handling of a coronavirus cluster. Some inmates were wounded as officers sought to restore order.

In 2018, more than

150 inmates at the Mako Brimob detention facility in Depok

on the outskirts of Jakarta rioted, resulting in the deaths of five members of Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism force Densus 88 during a 36-hour stand-off. Six of those prisoners were later sentenced to death.