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Friends in Blue: The Police and the Public in Singapore

NCJ Number
110120
Author(s)
S R Quah; J S T Quah
Date Published
1987
Length
209 pages
Annotation
This analysis focuses on public attitudes toward the police, crime, and crime prevention in Singapore, with emphasis on changes in attitudes between June 1983 and June 1984.
Abstract
In 1982, the Singapore Police began planning for a Neighborhood Police Post System that would be modeled on the Japanese 'koban' system of community-based policing. The study sought to determine attitudes before and after the implementation of this system. Data came from interviews with 543 people, who were interviewed in both 1983 and 1984. The analysis showed that the public's attitudes toward the police improved between 1983 and 1984. The new system was not the only source of this change, although it was an important one. The new system also intensified the antagonism felt toward the police by a small number of residents, for whom the closeness of the police was uncomfortable. Findings indicated the need for adequate staffing around the clock, continuous monitoring of performance and morale of the police, and careful selection and training of the community police officers. Photographs, data tables, appended tables and methodological information, index, and 60 references.