About Crime Statistics

The crime rate is an important social indicator as it can shed light on subtle shifts in society. For example a researcher might be interested to analyse if the overall crime rate increased after the opening of the Integrated Resorts, and if so, in which areas. Unfortunately, however statistical series for crime statistics are not available in electronic databases. Important note In addition most of the crime and drug statistics available online are secondary resources1. It is possible to reconstruct the primary data by extracting the raw figures (where available) from the secondary sources. However this is a cumbersome and unreliable process. Please also note that the contents of statistical reports may differ slightly across different releases. Broken links Followed a broken link? Report any such errors to this email.

Secondary data refers to statistical figures which have been extracted for analysis, e.g. a pie chart showing the percentage of heroin abusers, as opposed to raw numbers.

Created by Tan Han Yong for Sociology on 28 September 2010 All Rights Reserved. NTU Library

Singapore crime statistics Crime statistics for Singapore can be found from a number of sources. For example, broad overview statistical figures are available from the Singapore Statistics webpage. However the Singapore Police Force (SPF) website may be a better source to visit if you require detailed information on crime statistics. General Crime Rate (web document) (Scondary data) This page contains a graph which visualises the general crime rate over the past 10 years (1999-2009). This graph is most useful for an instant overview of the annual crime situation in Singapore and its fluctuations. For example it is possible to instantly notice a sharp spike in crime in the year 2005. Singapore Police Force Annual Report (Secondary data) More detailed information on crime in Singapore is concentrated at the SPF website. For example you may be interested to investigate further why there was a noticeable spike in crime in the year 2005. The Singapore Police Force Annual Report contains more detailed information on the annual crime situation in Singapore. However, only data for the years 2006-2009 is available on the internet. Annual reports for 2004 and before are only available in print format. Contains: Individual crime rates for 6 broad crime classes. A comparison with the previous years crime statistics is also provided. The crime classes are: No. 1 2 3 4 Crime class Crimes against persons Violent property crimes Housebreaking and related crimes Theft and related crimes Commercial crimes Miscellaneous crimes Includes Murder, rioting, rape, statutory rape, outrage of modesty Mainly involves robbery cases Includes break ins at commercial, industrial and residential areas Comprises shop theft, theft in dwelling, theft from motor vehicles, theft of motor vehicles, snatch thefts and other thefts Largely comprises cheating and related offences Comprises a broad spectrum of various crimes e.g. mischief, vandalism, bomb hoaxes, import violations Notes Involves bodily harm to a victim, who is an individual Involves forcible taking of money or threat of force against victim

5 6

Examples include phone scams

In earlier years there may be separate data for the 9 index crimes: 1. stealing and related offences 2. housebreaking 3. motor vehicle theft 4. outrage of modesty 5. robbery 6. snatch theft 7. rioting Created by Tan Han Yong for Sociology on 28 September 2010 All Rights Reserved. NTU Library

8. rape 9. murder Number of youths, foreigners arrested Number of public assisted arrests Police manpower statistics: comprising regular, civilian and NS officers Police budget expenditure statistics (by financial year) Traffic Police statistics: (Note: for more granular traffic statistics refer to the TP Annual) Number of fatal accidents and injury accidents Number of casualties in road accidents (same breakdown as above) Number of fatalities by user group (motorcycles, motorcars, pedestrians, pedal cyclists, others) Breakdown of motorcyclists and pillion riders killed by age group Breakdown of pedestrians killed by age group Drink driving cases, divided into accident and non-accident cases Speeding statistics Red light running statistics General reports for police divisions, including Land area covered by each police division Population in each area No. of police centres and neighbourhood police centres Characteristics of district e.g. significant installations like Jurong Island

Crime situation by Year (web document) (secondary data) The information available at the Crime Situation by Year web document is similar to the Singapore Police Annual Report but is less detailed. However please note that information is only available for 2005 and after. Unfortunately, the layout of the report varies slightly from year to year which can render it slightly difficult to locate information. Contains: Broad overview of crime for the past year Review of the six broad crime classes Key crime concerns for the past year Description of new crimes of concern, such as phone scams Annex A Annex A contains a comparison of the crime rate between the current and preceding year. For example Annex A in the 2009 report will contain comparative data for the years 2009 and 2008. Crime is classified into 6 broad subtypes: Crimes against persons Violent property crimes Housebreaking and related crimes Theft and related crimes Commercial crimes Miscellaneous crimes

Created by Tan Han Yong for Sociology on 28 September 2010 All Rights Reserved. NTU Library

Yearbook of Statistics, Singapore Brief statistical information on crime in Singapore is also available in the Yearbook of Statistics. Historical information on crime rates can be found in the older issues of the Yearbook of Statistics. The online version of the 2010 report is available at this link. The 2010 report contains statistics for the years 1999 and 2004-2009. Data is available by total numbers and per 100,000 individuals. Contains: Overall crime Crimes against persons Violent property crimes Housebreaking related crimes Theft related crimes Commercial crimes Miscellaneous crimes TP Annual (Primary data) The TP Annual contains much more granular data of traffic offence statistics in Singapore. Data is broken down into monthly offences from 1999 to the present (except where specially noted). Note that primary data is available from the TP Annual. Contains: No. Statistic type 1 Fatal and injury road accidents 2 Fatal road accidents 3 Serious injury road accidents 4 Casualty figures and casualty rates 5 Total road accident casualties 6 Road accident fatalities 7 Road accident injuries 8 Road accident casualties by road user category 9 Road accident fatalities by road user category Road accident injuries by road user category Availability by month of year by month of year by month of year Annual by month of year by month of year by month of year Annual compared to human population and vehicle population Notes Including fatal and injury

Annual

10

Annual

Divided into motorcyclists, pedestrians, motorcars, pedal cyclists, light goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicle, buses, others Divided into motorcyclists, pedestrians, motorcars, pedal cyclists, light goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicle, buses, others Divided into motorcyclists, pedestrians, motorcars, pedal cyclists, light goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicle, buses, others

Created by Tan Han Yong for Sociology on 28 September 2010 All Rights Reserved. NTU Library

No. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Statistic type Pedestrians killed or injured in road accidents Motorcyclists killed or injured in road accidents Motorcar drivers killed or injured in road accidents Vehicles involved in fatal and injury road accidents Vehicles involved in fatal road accidents Vehicles involved in injury road accidents Causes of accidents Number of qualified license holders Total qualified license holders Motor vehicles registered Motorcycle accidents per 10,000 registered vehicles Motorcar accidents per 10,000 registered vehicles Motorbus accidents per 10,000 registered vehicles

Availability Annual (2007 onwards) Annual (2007 onwards) Annual (2007 onwards) Annual Annual Annual Annual (2007 onwards) Annual Annual Annual Annual (2007 onwards) Annual (2007 onwards) Annual (2007 onwards)

Notes By age group By age group By age group Divided by vehicle type Divided by vehicle type Divided by vehicle type Fatal and injury accidents Divided by license type Total is less than summation of individual license holders as each individual can hold more than 1 license Divided by vehicle type Includes fatal accidents and injury accidents Includes fatal accidents and injury accidents Includes fatal accidents and injury accidents

Statistical report on crime in Singapore (yearbook) This publication covers the crime situation in Singapore from 1973-1986. Copies are available in NUS and NLB. However access to this publication is currently restricted. Central Narcotics Bureau Information on crimes related to drugs can be found at the Central Narcotics Bureau website. Online information is available on the drug offences situation from 2002 to the present. Drug situation report (annual) (secondary data) The drug situation report contains detailed information on substance abuse in Singapore. Useful information includes a breakdown of offenders by drug type. For example the most commonly abused drug in 2009 continues to be heroin. Figures on the number of drug abusers divided by age group are also available. A useful chart is the breakdown on the drug seizures per year, which can give some insight on the trafficking situation in Singapore.

Created by Tan Han Yong for Sociology on 28 September 2010 All Rights Reserved. NTU Library

Contains Repeat and new abuser drug figures (comparative data over 2 years) Drug abusers by drug type2, changes in most commonly abused drugs Drug abusers by age group (comparative data over 2 years) Drug abusers by ethnic group (comparative data over 2 years) Drug seizures by weight (comparative data over 2 years) Inhalant abusers figures (Divided into new and repeat offenders) Inhalant abusers by age group

2009: In increasing order: Methamphetamine, Heroin

Ecstasy,

Cannabis,

Nimetazepam,

Ketamine,

Buprenorphine,

Created by Tan Han Yong for Sociology on 28 September 2010 All Rights Reserved. NTU Library