Recent spate of armed assaults due to variety of factors but cases still rare: Criminologists, security experts

SINGAPORE — In response to queries on a recent spate of public violence involving armed offenders, the police said that they "will not tolerate heinous and violent crimes that threaten public safety" and will spare no effort bringing offenders to justice swiftly.

At the same time, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam noted that four violent incidents in March "involved attackers suspected to be under the influence of drugs, or with a history of substance abuse".

The four incidents involving dangerous weapons were: A sword-wielding man in Buangkok Crescent, a man in Strathmore Avenue who allegedly injured two passers-by with a razor blade, an attacker in Bukit Batok who allegedly threw a knife at a police officer, and a known drug offender who threatened police with a knife in Bendemeer Road, Mr Shanmugam wrote. The man was shot dead by police.

"Drug abuse may lead to aggression, violent behaviour, hallucination, and loss of control of their senses and reality. These attacks could have led to greater harm if the armed attackers were not stopped in time," Mr Shanmugam wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday (April 20).

In the response on Thursday to queries from TODAY about the recent spate of violence, the police said that for "egregious cases where public safety is concerned", they will launch a manhunt to arrest the perpetrators if they are on the run.

In addition to the four incidents cited by Mr Shanmugam, videos of another incident involving an attacker wielding a chopper went viral on social media recently of a man attacking his wife with a chopper at Beach Road. 

TODAY spoke to criminologists and security experts, who said that the easy availability of knives, poor conflict resolution skills, mental health are among the reasons driving violent behaviour. 

However, all three academics who spoke to TODAY said that the level of police presence on streets was not a factor. 

Dr Leon Moosavi, senior lecturer in criminology and security at the University of Liverpool in Singapore, said: "Regrettably, violence has always been present in human societies and it doesn't look like it will ever be eradicated any time soon.

"The best we can hope for is to reduce violent crime but we have to be realistic that no society can ever be totally free from criminality, including violent conduct." 

Associate Professor Razwana Begum, head, public safety and security programme, School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), said: "One of the main issues — poor conflict resolution skills, to communicate and express hurt, pain, anger.

"The miscommunication can lead to pent up anger, coupled with stress and anxiety with the emotional issues related to the pandemic resulting in an individual unable to stop, reflect and think." 

The recent spate of violent attacks was also discussed in Parliament on April 4. 

In response to a question about the perceived lack of police presence following the Buangkok Crescent incident, where a man was swinging a sword at several cars, Mr Desmond Tan, Minister of State for Home Affairs said that "the police cannot be everywhere all the time" and emphasised the need for community efforts. 

He said: "So, I think the community effort to get together to assure and to do the right thing during times of incidents like this, as we have witnessed at the Buangkok incident in fact, how members of the public have come together, exercise their discretion and put the perpetrator in his place, I think it is a very encouraging effort that the community can play a role as well." 

He added that the police will "continue to increase patrol on areas where there is potential high crime" in order to provide assurance to members of the public. 

However, experts believe that the recent spate of crimes have not undermined trust and confidence in the authorities. 

Criminologist Olivia Choy, an Assistant Professor at the Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) School of Social Science, said: "Research has shown that the perception of there being more crime can undermine confidence in public security, but confidence in police is also shaped by other factors such as an individual’s exposure to crime and what they see police do within their local area.

"Greater police visibility, including seeing police effectively responding to incidences, can facilitate greater confidence. Even perceiving the police to use fair procedures has been shown to result in higher levels of confidence."

However, Singapore still enjoys low crime rates and consistently ranked among the safest countries in the world, according to Statista, a statistics portal. 

Dr Moosavi said: "While it's reasonable to have some concern about our personal safety, these recent cases should not result in us developing excessive fear about such incidents, especially since they are still extremely rare in Singapore, which continues to be one of the safest countries in the world." 

On top of increasing patrol on areas with potential high crime rates, the police told TODAY that other initiatives, including new frontline capabilities such as the Emergency Response Team and In-Situ Reaction Team, serve to enhance patrols on the ground and response to violent crimes and terrorism. 

The police added that it is "generally able to respond within 15 minutes of the call". 

The SGSecure movement, which was launched in 2016 and to enhance counter-terrorism efforts, also allows members of the public to alert authorities to sightings of suspicious behaviour or individuals armed with dangerous weapons. 

The number of reports made through the SGSecure app have been increasing since it was launched in 2017, with 6,000 reports made that year to 11,000 in 2021. 

A police spokesperson said: "The community plays an important part in keeping Singapore safe. The Home Team, together with our partner agencies, have been engaging the public through the SGSecure movement, to build vigilance and preparedness against terrorism.

"Recent acts of vigilance and public-spiritedness by members of the public in helping the police apprehend suspects of armed attacks demonstrate the important role that the community can play to keep Singapore safe and secure.''

The academics also stressed a need to educate the public on how to cope with stress and healthy conflict resolution techniques. 

Assoc Prof Begum from SUSS said: "We do need to pay close attention to the mental health issues. We need to raise awareness and teach people on ways to cope emotionally and find a prosocial way to resolve conflict.

"We should also make it easier for individuals to seek help. (There should also be) less stigma in wanting to get help for anger management or violent outbursts."