Type Commissioner of Police Term length No fixed term | Abbreviation CP | |
Reports to Minister for Home Affairs Seat New Phoenix Park 28 Irrawaddy Road Singapore 329560 Appointer The President
Singapore Cabinet | ||
The Commissioner of Police (abbreviation: CP, Chinese: 警察总监) is the top-ranking police officer of the Singapore Police Force. Assisted by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, he reports to the Minister for Home Affairs.
Contents
- Commissioner of Police Singapore Police Force Straits Settlements Police
- Inspector General of Police Straits Settlements Police
- Commissioner of Police Singapore Police Force
- References
The post was created with the passing of the Police Act in 1857, in response to calls for a full-time dedicated police officer to helm the police force in response to escalating cases of violent crime in Singapore during that period. Thomas Dunman thus became the first police commissioner, and the first full-time superintendent of police, with a salary of 800 rupees per month.
When the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malacca, Penang) became a Crown Colony in 1867, the role of the police commissioner was expanded to include that of the entire Straits Settlements, with the title changed to that of Inspector-General of Police. This lasted until the Japanese Occupation of Singapore in 1942, before the post was restored as the Commissioner of Police in 1946 with the return of the British and the gradual instatement of local rule.