Molestation cases up 7% in 2025, other crimes go down

Molestation cases went up 7.3 per cent in 2025 compared to the year before, according to the latest police's annual crime brief.

The number of cases rose to 1,531 compared to 1,427 in 2024.

This is despite the decrease in other crimes of concern — shop theft, theft in dwelling and voyeurism.

Of the outrage of modesty cases in 2025, 372 were reported in residential premises, 164 in public transport and 115 in public entertainment outlets.

Molestation cases in shopping complexes saw a decline compared to 2024.

More than half of the molestation cases in 2025 involved offenders known to the victims, the police added.

Overall, last year saw a total of 20,857 cases while 2024 had 19,969, a 4.4 per cent increase.

Theft in foreign worker dorms

Theft in dwelling saw a 0.9 per cent decrease from 1,514 cases in 2024 to 1,500 in 2025, but the number of cases in foreign worker dormitories jumped 57.4 per cent from 54 to 85 in 2025.

Victims and perpetrators were most often residents sharing the same room, police said.

Shop theft still among top offences committed by youth

There were 4,109 cases of shop theft, down from 4,237 in 2024.

At 19.7 per cent of total physical crime cases, shop theft is still one of the top offences committed by youths arrested in 2025.

These cases commonly took place at supermarkets, beauty shops, personal care shops and health and wellness shops, with over half of such cases involving losses below $50.

The police attribute the decrease in shop theft cases to the Shop Theft Awareness for Retailers (Star) Programme, which sees the SPF work with retailers to address store risk factors and challenges in implementing theft prevention measures.

As at Dec 31, over 1,100 retail outlets have signed up for Star, including gadget store Challenger which joined the programme last year, while Watsons is exploring the use of artificial intelligence in combating shop theft.

Separately, the Singapore Police Force have been collaborating with the Ministry of Education to educate youth through school talks, advisories and other initiatives on various crimes including shop theft.

A dedicated crime prevention module will be launched on the Singapore Student Learning Space for Primary 3 to 6 students this year's first term.

Voyeurism occurred mostly in residential premises

Cases of voyeurism decreased to 486 in 2025 from 519 in 2024, and took place mostly in residential premises.

Of the cases reported last year, 146 were in residential premises, 91 in shopping complexes and 48 in public transport. 

Members of the public are encouraged to stay informed of the latest crime information, alerts and advisories by signing up for the Community Watch Scheme, downloading the Police@SG mobile app and following the SPF on social media as part of the SaferSG, Together movement.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com