Ministry of Home Affairs Speed up review of law to protect security officers from abuse
Singaporeans must not condone any abuse of our men in blue who work around the clock to protect us, and abusers must be swiftly and fairly dealt with under the law (Over 400 cases of police officers facing verbal, physical abuse in two years, ST Online, Aug 3).

The same goes for private security officers who play a complementary role to police officers in maintaining safety and security.

According to a survey of private security officers from September to November last year, commissioned by the Union of Security Employees, 42.3 per cent of the 1,002 respondents had experienced verbal or physical abuse. This is alarming.

Unlike police officers who are well trained in unarmed tactics and are equipped with body-cameras, batons, tasers and firearms, security officers are unarmed and inadequately trained to deal with ugly confrontations which could turn physical.

The Ministry of Home Affairs must speed up the review of the Private Security Industry Act to protect security officers from harassment and abuse.

As Singapore commemorates 200 years of policing and remembers the 125 police officers killed in the line of duty since 1901, let us also not forget the contributions of the many security officers performing an equally important role in making Singapore a safer place.

Benjamin Ng C.K

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-speed-up-review-of-law-to-protect-security-officers-from-abuse

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