The Straits Times

5 March 2014

 

 

ICA officers trained to raise the alarm

WE AGREE with Mr Lim Kong Hiong's sentiments ("Empower officers to raise alarms without fear"; Feb 22).

All Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers undergo training before they start work at the checkpoints. Their training includes the actions to be taken upon detection of any attempt to evade immigration and security checks, and there are established protocol, training and exercises.
 
ICA officers carry out their duties manfully and without fear or favour. When they need to raise the alarm, they should and will do so. The ICA will conduct more frequent drills and exercises to maintain officers' vigilance and validate emergency response plans.

 

Mr Lim has rightly pointed out that ICA officers at the checkpoints should be empowered to assess the situation and ensure that border security is not compromised.

 

We thank him for his feedback.

 
Vincent Ng

Head, Public & Internal Communications

Corporate Communications Division

Immigration & Checkpoints Authority

<Original Letter>

 

The Straits Times

22 February 2014

  

Empower officers to raise alarms without fear

 
AT THE time of the checkpoint breach, the officers and ground commanders may have hesitated to raise the alarm swiftly because of the fear of being reprimanded for letting an intruder sneak in ("Checkpoint breach: Poor responses, judgment"; Tuesday).

 

The Woodlands Checkpoint is one of the busiest in the world and incursions are bound to happen, no matter how many safeguards are put in place.

 
The key to a swift and appropriate response is to empower officers to raise alarms without fear of being reprimanded or blacklisted.

 
Front-line security personnel and ground commanders are often required to make swift judgment calls even if, at times, the grounds for suspicion are shaky.

 

Skilled terrorists rarely exhibit telltale signs to raise suspicions. It takes years of experience for officers to hone their instincts to the level where they know "something is not right".

 
Officers would be reluctant to make judgment calls if they are punished over false alarms that were raised in good faith.

 

As a military policeman during my national service days, I once raised an alarm that activated personnel from other branches of the armed forces for a thorough security sweep. It turned out to be a false alarm but instead of reprimanding me, my immediate superiors reassured me that my response was correct.

 
With that, my fellow military policemen were reassured that they could discharge their duties without fear of being punished, as long as their decisions were made in good faith.

 

So instead of meting out punishment when things go wrong, maybe we should reassure officers and encourage them to make judgment calls whenever these are required.

 

Lim Kong Hiong