When full-time National Service ( NS ) was first introduced in Singapore in 1967 , it was initially solely aimed and geared towards the building-up of the Singapore Armed Forces ( SAF ) . Meanwhile , in Singapore 's police force , NS was not extended to that of compulsory full-time service , with police NS being only part-time , unlike that of the SAF . There was little urgency and pressure for the police force to increase its overall manpower-strength until the Laju incident of 1974 , Singapore 's first encounter with international terrorism , demonstrated the need for additional trained reserve-officers who could be called up at short-notice in the event of a national crisis or a major and serious public emergency . Singapore 's full-time National Service policy was thus extended to the Singapore Police Force in 1975 , which stemmed from the then-primary aim of guarding and protecting key and vital public installations , such as sensitive ones like power substations and petrochemical industries , and to act as a swift-response reserve unit . Subsequent expansion of this NS scheme , along with changing security needs and requirements and the trend in outsourcing key-installation protection ( such as to the various local auxiliary police forces ) has expanded the role of police national servicemen to more varied functions , which may range from mainstream administration and operations ( such as the role of office-based Staff Assistants ( SAs ) ) , to basic police investigation ( like under the Ground Response Force ( GRF ) of the SPF 's Land Divisions ) to front line policing ( as seen in the Police Coast Guard ) alongside their regular counterparts
Laju incident
Laju incident
Singapore Police Force