Singapore

Singapore, once a lawless and pirateinfested island, is now one of the safest places in the world. This independent city-state was recently formed after a long period of foreign control or tutelage; Singapore won independence from Britain in 1963 when Singapore and Malaysia were granted independence as one political entity. Singapore and Malaysia then separated to create their own independent nations in 1965. This young “island city-state” has a total population of 4,017,700 and a population density of 5,885 per square kilometer. Ethnically, Singapore is 77 percent Chinese, 14 percent Malay, 7.6 percent Indian, and 1.4 percent other ethnic groups. The national language is Malay and the language of administration is English. Recently, attention has been drawn to Singapore because of its extremely low crime rates as well as its strict laws and punishment.

For centuries, secret Chinese societies controlled most facets of criminal activity in Singapore. Gangs controlled almost every activity of Singapore as they terrorized, tortured, killed, and demanded money and goods from the people. In an attempt to quell these underground, corrupt Chinese societies, Singapore created strict police and judicial policies. Over the past twenty years, the gangs, crime, and insecurity have virtually disappeared and the Chinese gangs from Singapore moved to places like Amsterdam and London, where they can operate more freely and with less trouble. Presently, Singapore has a reputation as a peaceful and crime-free area.

Singapore basically adheres to the British model of law and jurisprudence and the Japanese model of community policing. The criminal code of Singapore is divided into six distinct categories: “crimes against the person” (murder, assault), “violent property crime” (robbery, extortion), “housebreaking” and “theft” (various larcenies), “fraud and forgery,” and “other crimes” (such as drug abuse, vandalism, and other minor offenses). All of the aforementioned categories are treated with serious and strict punishments and all punishments are imposed by the national government. Some of the most strict and rigid laws and punishments are for possession of drugs and firearms, pornography, public solicitation, and gambling. Severe drug-related offenses, such as trafficking with 30 grams of morphine, are treated with a mandatory death penalty. Less severe drug offenses and misdemeanors are treated with corporal punishment such as caning. Dealing firearms and the use of any firearm with intent to cause bodily harm are capital offenses. The person with a firearm offense is subject to the death penalty along with any accomplices, regardless of whether the accomplice was armed or not. Public solicitation is illegal and pornography in all forms is banned. Public spitting is a violation of law in Singapore. All films and videotapes shown in the country must be approved by a government board. Vandalism, theft, and robbery are all treated with mandatory caning as well as imprisonment (Austin, 1987). Along with all these rigid laws, Singapore also boasts an extremely fair court system, a [Page 1519]good probation service, a large, respected police force, and an effectively organized prison system.

When compared with numerous developed countries, Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates. In addition, Singapore's crime rate has declined further in recent years. In 1988, Singapore reported 2,032 seizable offenses (those that could result in arrest) per 100,000 population and reported 1,305 per 100,000 in 1996. In 1994, there were 46 cases of violent crime (homicide, assault, rape, and robbery) per 100,000 population compared to 713 cases in the United States and 504 cases in the United Kingdom. Japan was the only country reported to have lower violent crime rates at 24 cases per 100,000 population. Singapore, with a reported rate of 874 cases of property crimes (burglary and theft) per 100,000 population, had the second lowest statistic (second only to Hong Kong).

...