Preventing Police Corruption in Singapore: The Role of Recruitment, Training and Socialisation

Abstract

Police corruption is a serious problem in many Asian countries. However, Singapore’s case shows that it is possible to prevent and control police corruption if there is the political will to do so. After analysing various forms of police corruption, this article recognises that police corruption was rampant in Singapore during the British colonial period, but that since then, through the commitment of the People’s Action Party government to curbing corruption in the country, the Singapore Police Force has succeeded in preventing and minimising police corruption. It has done this by improving its salaries and working conditions, its recruitment and selection procedures, its training programmes, and the socialisation of its members.