Chairman's Message

MESSAGE FROM CHAIRMAN

In 2024, the total number of physical crime cases reported was 19,969, almost equal to the 19,966 cases in 2023. According to figures from the police, there were more shop theft and voyeurism cases. However, the number of cases of theft in dwelling and outrage of modesty fell.

Shop theft accounted for 21.1% of all physical crime cases, increasing by 7.6% to 4,237 cases in 2024 from 3,939 cases in 2023. It is noteworthy that shop theft was one of the top offences again for youths arrested by the police in 2024. Most of them were caught at supermarkets, beauty shops, personal care/health and wellness shops. NCPC will continue to engage schools and major retailers to educate youths on the consequences of shop theft.

As for scams and cybercrimes, Singapore saw the number of cases jump by 10.8% to 55,810 cases, compared to 50,376 cases in 2023. For the first time, the total amount lost crossed the billion dollar mark – it spiked by 70.6% to more than $1.1 billion in 2024, eclipsing the $651.8 million in 2023.In terms of the total amount lost, investment scams, job scams and government officials impersonation scams were the top scam types.

To provide easily accessible resources for the public to protect themselves against scams, the ScamShield Suite was rolled out in September 2024. It consists of the ScamShield Helpline, ScamShield app, website and Alert channels. NCPC’s anti-scam helpline used to handle around 14 calls a day. Since September, the new 24/7 ScamShield Helpline “1799” has been receiving over 450 chats and calls daily to give advice on scams encountered by the public.

NCPC’s #XiamTheScams web game was also a huge success, engaging over 519,000 players over a three-month period. Players were able to learn about common scams and protective measures in a fun and educational way. To strengthen our fight against cybercrimes and scams, we expanded our team of Crime Prevention Ambassadors (CPA) with the launch of the Cyber CPA programme in May 2024. Within a few months, these passionate volunteers reached out to more than 15,000 members of the public across 30 events.

In 2025, I look forward to presenting the inaugural Crime Prevention Awards to organisations that help to keep their customers, staff and stakeholders safe from crimes. As we have always been advocating – Crime Prevention is a Shared Responsibility!

GERALD SINGHAM , JP, BBM (L), PBM
Chairman, NCPC