Crime rates in Singapore 2010-2019
In 2019, the number of crimes committed in Singapore for every 100,000 individuals was approximately 617. This was a nine-year high, and mostly due to the increase in commercial crime cases.
Law and order
Singapore has a reputation for being one of the safest cities in the world. Violent crime is rare – as of 2017, its intentional homicide rate was just 0.7 per 100 thousand population. One reason for this could be the harsh penalties for offenders, as well as a strict ban on weapons for those not in law enforcement. Singapore still carries out capital punishment, and crimes such as murder and the illegal possession of firearms carry the death penalty.
Increase in commercial crime
The most common type of crime committed in Singapore were commercial crimes, especially scams. As Singaporeans carry out more aspects of everyday life online, so too are criminals looking to take advantage of unsuspecting victims. In 2019, scams involving e-commerce transactions were the most common of such crimes. These typically involve the fraudulent sale of products on C2C commercial sites, which are harder to track. Such scams, however, usually involve smaller amounts of money, unlike business e-mail impersonation scams. These involve targeting companies and tricking them into wiring large sums of money for supposed business purposes. In 2019, companies in Singapore who fell victim to such scams were cheated out of more than 45 million Singapore dollars.
Law and order
Singapore has a reputation for being one of the safest cities in the world. Violent crime is rare – as of 2017, its intentional homicide rate was just 0.7 per 100 thousand population. One reason for this could be the harsh penalties for offenders, as well as a strict ban on weapons for those not in law enforcement. Singapore still carries out capital punishment, and crimes such as murder and the illegal possession of firearms carry the death penalty.
Increase in commercial crime
The most common type of crime committed in Singapore were commercial crimes, especially scams. As Singaporeans carry out more aspects of everyday life online, so too are criminals looking to take advantage of unsuspecting victims. In 2019, scams involving e-commerce transactions were the most common of such crimes. These typically involve the fraudulent sale of products on C2C commercial sites, which are harder to track. Such scams, however, usually involve smaller amounts of money, unlike business e-mail impersonation scams. These involve targeting companies and tricking them into wiring large sums of money for supposed business purposes. In 2019, companies in Singapore who fell victim to such scams were cheated out of more than 45 million Singapore dollars.
