The Special Tactics and Rescue, or STAR, is an elite tactical unit of the Singapore Police Force. Its official task is to provide the SPF with a tactical armed-response capability, and its motto is "Vigilance, Valour, Victory".
Origins & History
STAR started off in the late 1970s as a part-time outfit called the Police Tactical Team, and was mainly used to contain civil disorder. During the early days, the Police Tactical Team was a motley crew of volunteer officers from the Police Task Force, who served even on their days off for a monthly allowance of $50. The PTT, although drawing expertise from the PTF, were still limited in their operational readiness, skills and capability. Resulting from the need to provide the Singapore Police Force with a dedicated armed response team, with expertise assistance of Hong Kong Police Force's Special Duties Unit, the UK’s SAS, Germany’s GSG9, France’s GIGN, and America’s Delta Force, the PTT was re-formed into STAR under Special Operations Command on 1 November 1993.
Duties
Prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the role of STAR was to engage in neutralising armed and dangerous criminals, to resolve urban sieges that may involve hostages or firearms, protection of VIPs and escorting of particularly dangerous prisoners. After the events of 11 September, the unit was also planned to undertake counter-terrorism duties. In 2005, STAR acquired a new maritime assault capability to augment the Police Coast Guard and the Republic of Singapore Navy in dealing with maritime threats.
Known Operations
On 8 May 1998, STAR unit was activated to raid an HDB flat in Chai Chee to apprehend 40 year old Anthony Tan Cheng Lock, a drug addict who earlier shot a police officer in the thigh and stole his service revolver at a housing estate in Woodlands the previous night, after violently resisting arrest. Tan committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with the stolen revolver after STAR troopers breached into the flat. Tan had been admitted into the drug rehabilitation centre five times for drug consumption from 1982 to 1993, and was wanted by Central Narcotics Bureau for skipping mandatory reporting dates under drug supervision order prior to his death. The STAR unit has been involved in the arrest of an AWOL and armed National Serviceman named Dave Teo Ming in 2007 at the Orchard Cineleisure Mall without firing a shot. In 2016, STAR responded to two separate hostage situations in the flats of Ang Mo Kio and Sembawang, in which both events involved in stand-offs for more than ten hours. In May 2018, STAR was involved in a covert operation to swiftly apprehend two Taiwanese weapons smugglers who were part of an organised crime syndicate that was busted in Taiwan, but only the two smugglers escaped to Singapore.
Selection and training
Application to join the STAR unit is open to both public and police officers through the open recruitment exercise every year around October to December. To get the best people for the job, the unit holds an intensive and rigorous selection process. During this process, candidates have to undergo a full-day screening to evaluate both their physical and mental capabilities. After which, they are put through psychological assessments and an interview is conducted by an interview panel. Successful applicants will be notified to undergo a final medical review before starting their intensive two-month training and orientation. During the two months, the candidates will be put through another series of tests to evaluate their capabilities in given situations. Those who make it through the selection week will then embark on a six-month training course which includes doctrinal and practical sessions in related disciplinary acts. It is also referred to as STAR Main Course, which consists of the basic and intermediate phases of STAR’s core skills training. The STAR unit is known to have sent officers extensively for overseas training attachments and study visits with different units such as Hong Kong's Special Duties Unit, Israeli Border Guard's Yamam, France's GIGN, Germany's GSG 9, and the Australian Special Operations Group.
