SINGAPORE – Assistant Commissioner Serene Chiu’s decision to leave her job as an accountant to join the police force – after years of being in a school uniformed group and watching countless episodes of police dramas on TV – could seem like it was destined.

It has been 25 years since, and she has never looked back.

AC Chiu now serves as the commander of Clementi Police Division, and is one of about 1,800 female regulars in the police force.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) on April 13 marked 75 years of women in policing with an event to honour the achievements and contributions of female police officers in Singapore.

Women now hold 20 per cent of senior leadership positions in SPF, said Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, who was speaking at the event at Star Vista about the progress of women in the force.

“Our women officers have also established themselves in various specialist vocations which had traditionally been male-dominated,” said Mrs Teo, who is also the Second Minister for Home Affairs.

There are now three women officers in the elite Special Task Squadron of the Police Coast Guard who perform high-risk operations alongside their male colleagues, she added. These include high-speed interception of smugglers, and search and rescue operations on the high seas.

The Police Women’s Committee (PWC) has worked hard since 2014 to build an inclusive and fair work environment for policewomen, Mrs Teo said.

In 2022, the PWC formed women’s committees at the unit level, providing all women officers to have direct access to a local support system, including feedback channels and networking opportunities, she added.

It is also developing an information portal to address queries ranging from nursing rooms in police establishments to maternity leave and training matters for pregnant officers, Mrs Teo said.

AC Chiu, the chairwoman of the PWC, said that as a female leader, she is in a better position to understand the challenges that women face at work and foster a more progressive workplace.

This includes consulting female officers when implementing new equipment and uniforms and ensuring a lactation facility in police establishments.

“It helps to have a strong culture of safety and respect at work,” AC Chiu said. “It is not easy for female officers to manage career and family.”

She currently oversees a division with over 650 officers, after having served in other roles including criminal investigation, operations, front-line policing, policy and planning, and public affairs.

Asked about challenges she has faced as a female officer, AC Chiu said that she did not face any and that women officers are trained and equipped to deal with various aspects of policing beyond physical strength.

“We are treated as equals, and there are many other valuable skills and qualities that contribute to effective policing,” she added.

Her most memorable experience was in 2015, when she was deployed as part of the security team for the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s lying-in-state at Parliament House.

Security plans had to be changed and implemented quickly as queues grew, hours were extended, and many more officers had to be deployed at short notice, she said.

“No one complained about the long hours, as we were focused on the mission,” she said. “As much as many of us would have liked to join the queue of the members of the public to pay our last respects to the late Mr Lee, we stood by our policing duties throughout the deployment.”

“Thankfully, we got a chance to pay our last respects as a group before we stood down from the deployment.”

Mrs Teo said that 30 per cent of neighbourhood police centres are currently led by women commanding officers, and women officers make up about a quarter of the supervisors in the Land Division investigation branches.

Acknowledging the path paved by many policewomen since the first batch of 10 in 1949, Mrs Teo said: “The progress and achievements of our women in policing did not come about by chance.”

It is the result of pioneering efforts, she said, of women officers like Mrs Mary Quintal, the first woman to be appointed assistant superintendent of police in 1961, and Madam Ng Guat Ting, the first woman to lead a Land Division in 1999.

Mrs Teo added that the progress made was also testament to the “sustained hard work of generations of policewomen – women who have challenged gender norms and overcome prejudices, with grit and courage”.