15-05-2025
Intel-led and tech-driven: How the Home Team keeps our streets safe from crimes and drugs
ITC was set up in 2024 to support ICA's New Clearance Concept (NCC), which uses biometrics and data analytics to enhance immigration processes and border security at the land, air and sea checkpoints.
With NCC, Singapore residents and visitors leaving the country can clear checkpoints without having to use their passports .
NCC was created by ICA with help from Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), which develops science and technology capabilities for Home Team operations.
The result of this joint effort? Travellers enjoy a speedy, seamless clearance experience without compromising on security, SGT Zafirah says.
Even as technology reshapes Home Team operations, experienced hands like Mr Ronie Chua Joseph continue to make a difference.
After a four-decade long career fighting drug crimes at CNB, he retired in 2015. But the urge to serve remains.
Just a few months later, he returned to duty – this time in ICA's intelligence division, bringing his wealth of experience to a new frontier.
Now, Mr Joseph co-leads a team of four to track down and arrest individuals who have committed immigration offences.
But the fight against crime today is nothing like the unpredictable, high-risk operations of the 1980s, Mr Joseph says.
It is now a coordinated, multi-agency effort.
'Some of these immigration offenders may be involved in other offenses, including drug-related or other criminal activities,' Mr Joseph explains. 'We work closely with CNB and other Home Team agencies to conduct multi-agency enforcement operations.'
The intelligence-led One Home Team approach is a powerful force, he adds, enabling officers across agencies to respond faster and tackle crimes more effectively.
In the fight to keep Singapore safe, the Home Team acts as one – always ready, always protecting our home.
