Police to get new powers from Jan 1: MHA
Police officers will be legally empowered to make forced entry into any place in case of medical emergencies, to protect people from injury or death.
PHOTO: The Straits Times
PUBLISHED ONDecember 30, 2021 2:40 AMByDavid Sun
SINGAPORE - In the new year, police officers will find themselves with new powers, enabling them to respond and protect more proactively.
They will be legally empowered to make forced entry into any place in case of medical emergencies, to protect people from injury or death.
Currently, their powers are limited to specific circumstances such as to make an arrest, and they cannot force entry even if they hear a person in distress but believe no crime has been committed.
The new powers will also be extended to special police officers, including full-time national servicemen and volunteer special constabulary officers, who currently have powers of investigation but not proactive powers of policing.
Commercial affairs officers who investigate commercial and financial crimes will also gain more powers, allowing them to arrest people who possess stolen items.
Such officers currently only have the powers of investigation.
These changes are part of several amendments to the Police Force Act that takes effect from Jan 1 next year.
The amendments were passed in Parliament on Aug 3.
Under the changes, the Act also makes explicit the existing powers of police officers to erect barriers and cordons to control human traffic, and to make it an offence to not comply with instructions from officers to not cross such barriers and cordons.
Other changes include increased penalties for motorists who evade roadblocks.
This will cover more modes of roadblock evasion apart from physically dashing through, to ensure that deterrence against such offences remains effective.
It was reported in August that in the past five years, 33 people have been convicted or given stern warnings for evading police roadblocks.
In 2017, two officers were injured after a driver dashed through a roadblock in Mackenzie Road.
More recently, in September, a motorcyclist was arrested for evading an early morning police roadblock along Holland Road, allegedly speeding off and ignoring instructions from officers to stop for checks.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.