Business Continuity, Policy & Planning

Singapore Police holds counter-terrorism briefing

By Robin Hicks | 2 March 2009

The Singapore Police Force held a security briefing for local businesses last week (Friday 27 February) as part of a plan to involve the local community in counter-terrorism measures. The briefing was prompted by last November’s Mumbai attacks in which international terrorism claimed its first Singaporean victim.

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In the opening address, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng called on business leaders to work with security agencies to form a “united vanguard against terrorism.” Co-ordinated community involvement can significantly minimize risks of attack and can also mitigate the extent of damage, he said.

Businesses were called on to join the Safety and Security Watch Group (SSWG), a collective designed to promote “self-help efforts” within the business community. The group is part of a process of “target hardening”, a response to the trend of terrorists hitting soft targets, as seen in Mumbai.

“By forming committees, we can draw on the strength of each other, the vigilance of our partners and the resilience of our collective group to quickly rebound should an incidence arise,” said Mr Wong. “In peace time, we can use this platform to share information with each other more readily and effectively.”

Practical measures companies can take fall under the five ‘D’s of counter-terrorism: deter, detect, deny, damage mitigation and deal. They include investment in counter-terrorism training, surveillance, increased security and business continuity measures.

The Minister added that, despite tough economic times, businesses must resist the temptation to cut down on security measures.

The Singapore Police, together with the Home Team Departments and related government agencies, will test their collective response to a terrorist incident similar to Mumbai in the second quarter of this year. The exercise has been called Northstar VII.