The short answer to the question is, an overwhelming YES! It is safe to travel to Singapore, and the article will show you why!
This should be one of the first questions to be researched before embarking on a holiday trip. We take these trips for leisure, for the fun of it or for work. Even if you’re the most adventurous person you’d know of, it is always best to find out beforehand what you’re getting into. That would dramatically ease the minds of your family and friends, whether they are traveling together with you or not.
So, what do I mean by safe? Singapore has an incredibly low crime rate. I have basically lived my whole life in Singapore. My family moved to Singapore when I was a kid. I went to school here, worked a job here and grew to be who I am today. Through all my years here in Singapore, my family and I have never experienced any form of theft, burglary, aggravated assault, robbery and the whole list of common crimes. That is from almost 20 years of living in Singapore.
Therefore, it will be extremely unlikely that you’d get caught in those situations. These common crimes are really rare in Singapore; violent crimes like murder and rape are even more few and far between.
Well, you may think that this looks overly biased. I have got two references you may look at. The first is a recent article posted on CNBC in January 2018 and it can be found here. A video was accompanied by the article. There are three main points that I want to highlight in this video.
The man in the video saved his seat in a self-served food court with his valuable possessions before leaving them to make an order. This is definitely not recommended. Singapore is a very safe country, but low crime does not mean that there is no crime.
This should never be practiced in any city in the world. Do not leave your prized possessions unattended. I’m not debating if this part of the video is real or fake but never try this anywhere.
Let’s move on to the more encouraging point of the video. In the video, there is a walkthrough in the malls of Singapore where shop owners display little to no effort in locking up shops. They are often depicted using a rope, a band or even just turning off the lights and displaying a close sign.
This is true to life in Singapore. There are security cameras almost everywhere in Singapore, especially in malls. This makes escaping the crime committed incredibly difficult. So, most shop owners use simple methods to depict that they are closed.
The last point I’d like to bring up is the statistics shown in the video. It is evident that Singapore is a safe country, but the video depicted 135 days without any crime. This is cited by the Singapore police. On the surface this is amazing, and that as a citizen I should stand by it. However, take this information with a grain of salt.
This is cited from the local police force, therefore it could be biased. The 135 days is a clickbait title. Even if there is the slightest chance that that is true, it would only mean that it is the number of days gone by that crime was not reported to the police.
I’d like to end this reference by saying that Singapore is still a really safe travel option despite the picture I had painted in the previous points. The main take away from the article should be to showcase that Singapore shop owners have trusted the low crime rate in Singapore by opting for low effort ways to shut up their shops, so you can definitely enjoy a safe trip in Singapore.
Safe Cities Index
The other article that we can reference is from The Safe Cities Index 2019 compiled by The Economist and the article can be found here. The following is a quote on what the index is about.
The Safe Cities Index is a report from The Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by NEC. The report is based on the second iteration of the index, which ranks 60 cities across 49 indicators covering digital security, health security, infrastructure security, and personal security.
Singapore is ranked 2nd out of 60 in the 2019 iterations. This outperforms major cities in the world, such as Toronto, London, Madrid, Los Angeles and many more. The index takes into account a variety of different threats. So you can be rest assured that Singapore will be a safe destination.
What Kind Of Weapons Can I Carry For Self-defence?
The short and straight answer, no self-defense weapons are allowed. This means no pepper sprays, no stun guns, no knives or anything that could be deemed as a weapon.
Singapore is a country with strict laws. One of these laws prohibits the carrying of weapons, unless there is a proper authorization. A small folding knife or a small can of pepper spray could be allowed for self-defense in the country you live in, but they are banned in Singapore.
However, this does not mean self-defense is not permitted, the Singapore law does not allow one to use greater force than necessary to defend oneself. It is more likely than not that you’d not come across the need for such items anyways.
The following is a small list of items that are not allowed.
Disclaimer: items that are not on the list but maybe considered weapons will not be allowed. To be safe, check with the authorities.
- Flick knife
- Handcuffs
- Firearms
- Live bullets
- Brass knuckles
- Pepper spray
- Stun guns
What Can I Do To Travel Safer In Singapore?
These are steps you can take before or whilst you’re traveling, the majority of them are not exclusive to Singapore. The few tips that are more applicable to Singapore will be highlighted.
Avoid dimly lit or dark alleyways
This is applicable everywhere, even if you’re not on vacation. Always avoid using dimly lit or dark alleyways. The streets in Singapore are brightly lit; it will be rare to come across a dark alleyway. They still do exist. Use the main sidewalk with the street lamps. It may be a longer route to take, but it will be much safer. You never know what is in the dark.
Keep and carry all your belongings with you
I will reiterate the point, Singapore has low crime, but it doesn’t mean zero crime. Do keep your belongings with you, keep your bags zipped up and use the locking mechanism on your luggage. Do not flash or expose expensive possessions that you cannot afford to lose.
Spend extra money on safety
Some may choose to stay in a budget hotel or hostels, in exchange using the extra money splurging on food, places to visit or shopping. I do not agree with that. Spend the extra money on a decent place to stay in. Even if you do not value the security of a decent place, your body will thank you after a night of sleep in a better quality bed, recharging your body for the next day of fun.
Keep a copy of all your documents and hide some cash
These documents may include your medical record, a copy of your passport and other IDs. So in the event if something undesirable, you’d have extra copies of whatever you need. You may follow the way I’d like to do this.
Keep a scanned soft copy of your documents and save them in the cloud, consider Google Drive or Dropbox, and keep a hard copy of it in the other bag that doesn’t contain the original documents. You can choose to keep a small amount of cash on yourself in preparation for the worst. It’ll be unlikely that you’ll need to do this in Singapore, but it is always better to prepare for the worst.
Haze season
This applies uniquely to some of the Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore. There is a haze season in Singapore, in which haze and smoke travel via winds from the agricultural fires originating in Indonesia. This normally occurs around May, and it could last as long as 2 full months, till the end of July.
There are more efforts put in to reduce the burning, but it will likely not reach zero haze anytime soon. You may use a protective mask from any pharmacy during the haze period. During this season, the Singapore government closely monitors the haze levels and reports if it is a safe level.
Singapore’s Emergency Numbers
In the event that you’ve encounter trouble in Singapore, you may want to save and use these numbers to notify the authorities. Whilst engaged in the call with the operators, stay calm and give a clear description of the emergency and the location.
Police: 999
Fire & Ambulance: 995
Non-Emergency Ambulance: 1777