The Commissioner of Police is the head of the Singapore Police Force (SPF). The Commissioner is assisted by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, and reports to the Minister for Home Affairs. The current Commissioner of Police is How Kwang Hwee.

The position was created with the Police Act of 1856 (and passed 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 was appointed as a Deputy Magistrate and Superintendent of Police in 1843, before he assumed responsibilities as the first full-time Commissioner of Police in June 1857.

When Singapore, Malacca and Penang became Crown colonies of the British Empire in 1867, joining the Straits Settlements, the Singapore Police Force was made one of the three primary components of the Straits Settlements Police Force (SSPF). While the capitol city of the Straits Settlements was located in Singapore, and the SSPF maintained the office of Inspector-General of the Straits Settlements Police, the Singapore Police was led by a different commander known as the Chief Police Officer (CPO), who would usually, but not always, hold the rank of Superintendent of Police. There was a Chief Police Officer for each District of the Straits Settlements, and they reported directly to the Inspector General. They were responsible for the Chief Police Office, which acted as the headquarters of the Singapore Police Force. For a long period, the CPO also acted as the Registrar of Hackney Carriages, before the invention of automobiles.

CPO was a title, while Superintendent was a rank. The Police Force Ordinance of 1871 states clearly that the Chief Police Officer was the officer with the highest rank in the settlement, after the Inspector-General. The Police Force Ordinance of 1872 reiterated this. In the earlier years, there was only one Superintendent in Singapore, and they automatically filled the title of Chief Police Officer. This is iterated in The Prevention of Crime Ordinance 1880, (No. VI of 1880), where Singapore is defined as: "Singapore. The Superintendent of Police being the Chief Police Officer of this District..." and that the CPO's jurisdiction included Singapore Town and four Divisions of the District. In 1887, the High Court debated the definition of CPO, but the language was clarified by Attorney General Bosner.

As the city grew, by the 1930's, there were multiple Superintendents. In 1932, for example, the Blue Book lists two Superintendents, but one of them was in charge of Special Branch (the intelligence agency), while the other was in charge of the Police. By 1936, in the Settlement of over a million people, there were 6 Superintendents listed – the CPO was the most senior of those.

In March, 1940, the position of Chief Police Officer was eliminated, and the former CPO became known as the Deputy Inspector General of Police for Administration of the Straits Settlements, while simultaneously performing as CPO, managing the Singapore Police Force. Because of the wartime functions of the Inspector General, the Deputy Inspector General took administrative charge of all uniformed police forces in the Straits Settlements.

In 1900, quarters for the Chief Police Officer were erected on Fort Canning. In 1931, the Chief Police Office was moved from South Bridge Road to Robinson Road.

This lasted until the Japanese occupation of Singapore in 1942, before the position was restored as the Commissioner of Police in 1946 with the return of the British and the gradual instatement of self-governance.

The President of Singapore has the power to appoint the Commissioner of Police on the advice of the Cabinet.

List of commissioners of police Commissioner of the Singapore Police Force British Military Administration Civil Affairs Police Force #PortraitCommissioner of PoliceTook officeLeft officeRobert Edward Foulger19451946 Colony of Singapore # Portrait Commissioner of Police Took office Left office1 Robert Edward Foulger 1946 19512 J. P. Pennefather-Evans 1951 19523 Nigel G Morris 1952 19574 Alan Edmund Grove Blades 1957 21 March 1963 State of Singapore #PortraitCommissioner of PoliceTook officeLeft office5 John Le Cain 21 March 1963 1965 Singapore #PortraitCommissioner of PoliceTook officeLeft office5John Le Cain196519676 Cheam Kim Seang 1967 19727 Tan Teck Khim 1973 19818 Goh Yong Hong 1981 19929 Tee Tua Ba 1992 199710 Khoo Boon Hui 1997 201011 Ng Joo Hee 2010 201512 Hoong Wee Teck 2015 202613How Kwang Hwee2026Incumbent

Singapore in the Straits Settlements

Superintendent of the Singapore Police Force # Portrait Commissioner of Police Took office Left officeRef. 1 Thomas Dunman 1846 1856 Commissioners of the Singapore Police Force # Portrait Commissioner of Police Took office Left officeRef.1Henry Somerset Mackenzie, as Resident Councillor of Singapore18561857 2 Thomas Dunman 1857 1861–Bruce Robertson186118622Thomas Dunman186218 August 18713Charles Bushe Plunket18 August 1871Promoted to Inspector-General

Chief Police Officers of the Singapore Police District The Chief Police Officer did not have to be a Superintendent, simply the highest-ranking officer in the Settlement after the IG. Many of the CPOs were Assistant Superintendents or Second Superintendents, but usually were promoted to "Acting Superintendent" to avoid confusion. Rotations between the Settlements were very common; CPOs served at the discretion of the government, and often had to sail to another Settlement to fill-in for someone else who was going on leave or was out sick, or to obtain promotions for themselves. After stressful postings, CPOs were also often given lengthy leave to go back to England, and while there, they could often receive modernized training at Scotland Yard. # Portrait Chief Police Officer Took office Left officeRef.1Charles Brown WallerPromoted from Deputy Commissioner26 April 1872Robert Walter Maxwell26 April 187213 August 1872Charles Brown Waller13 August 187217 December 1872Samuel Dunlop17 December 187226 December 1872–Henry Patrick Coghill Plunket26 December 187217 July 1873–Walter John Tatham17 July 18731873Robert Walter Maxwell4 December 18731 October 1877–Cranston Erasmus Ommaney26 December 187719 April 1878–Arthur Phillip Talbot25 June 18785 July 1879–Herbert Jackson Harmer Riccard24 July 187925 March 1881Cranston Erasmus Ommaney25 March 18819 September 1882Herbert Jackson Harmer Riccard9 September 188216 January 1883–Harry Osman Newland6 September 18833 November 1884Edward Horatio Bell22 October 18844 April 1889–William Andrew Cuscaden4 April 18894 May 1889–Harry Osman Newland4 May 18891 August 1890–Edward C. Hogge1 August 189030 December 1890–William Andrew Cuscaden9 February 18917 January 1892–Harry Osman Newland7 January 18924 April 1893Edward Horatio Bell4 April 189319 April 1894–Harry Osman Newland19 April 18941894–Edward Horatio Bell25 April 18951 April 1898–William Andrew Cuscaden1 April 18988 March 1901–Alan Lindsay Stewart8 March 190127 December 1901–Charles Trevelyan Wathen27 December 190130 August 1902–William Edward Ure Grove30 August 19026 September 1903–Edward Archibald Gardiner19 September 19036 December 1903William Andrew Cuscaden6 December 190316 March 1904Edward Archibald Gardiner16 March 190418 March 1904William Andrew Cuscaden18 March 190427 September 1906–Jermyn d’Arcy Travers Symonds27 September 190614 December 1906–Wilfred Robert John Hawtrey14 December 1906February 1907William Edward Ure GroveFebruary 1907September 1907Alexander Richard Chancellor12 September 190720 November 1908–Edward Archibald Gardiner20 November 190825 February 1910Alexander Richard Chancellor25 February 191023 July 1910–Edward Archibald Gardiner30 July 19106 December 1910–Charles Basil Whitehead6 December 191023 December 1910William Andrew Cuscaden23 December 191018 February 1911William Montagu Lance Bower18 February 191121 September 1911Alexander Richard Chancellor21 September 19113 March 1914George Herbert May3 March 1914June 1916–Arthur Robert Johnstone Dewar30 June 191621 August 1916Charles Hannigan21 August 19161 May 1920–Nevil Alfred Malcolm Griffin1 May 192028 October 1920Andrew Joseph Sheedy28 October 192016 November 1920Nevil Alfred Malcolm Griffin16 November 19201 April 1921Andrew Joseph Sheedy1 April 192115 April 1921Victor George Savi15 April 192121 March 1922Charles Hannigan21 March 192228 December 1922–Andrew Joseph Sheedy28 December 19226 January 1923–William Montagu Lance Bower6 January 1923April 1923Charles HanniganApril 192310 February 1925Francis Edward Harmer10 February 192510 April 1925Harold Fairburn10 April 19251 July 1925–Andrew Joseph Sheedy1 July 19251 November 1925Charles Henry Sansom7 November 19251 December 1925–René H de S Onraet3 December 192511 October 1926Charles Henry Sansom11 October 192616 August 1928–Andrew Joseph Sheedy23 August 192821 December 1929Charles Henry Sansom21 December 19291 May 1930–Victor George Savi1 May 193011 June 1931–René H de S Onraet11 June 193128 January 1932Victor George Savi28 January 193220 June 1934–Hugh Lambert Mitchell2 September 193412 November 1934–René H de S Onraet12 November 19347 March 1935Nevil Alfred Malcolm Griffin7 March 19358 June 1936–Mervyn Llewelyn Wynne8 June 193616 June 1938–John Pennefather Pennefather Evans16 June 19382 July 1938Ewald Egerton Herbert Beck2 July 1938January 1939L. A. ThomasJanuary 19391940

Deputy Inspector General for Administration of the Straits Settlements and Chief Police Officer of Singapore # Portrait Deputy I.G., Administration Took office Left officeRef.L. A. Thomas1940?

References

"Policing Singapore in the 19th & 20th centuries", Peer M. Akbur, Singapore Police Force, 2002