Today August 9, 2020, is Singapore’s National Day and 2020 is also the 200thanniversary of the Singapore Police Force, which was founded in 1820. I will post information about the first commissioner of Police in Singapore; he is one of my British heroes.
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Thomas Dunman (1814-1887) was an Englishman during the British Colonial period with Anglo-Saxon origins from the town of Dunham[a] in Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. He arrived in the Straits Settlements and the Crown Colonyof Singapore from England. Dunman was the first Commissioner of Police in Singapore, Straits Settlements from 1856 to 1871.
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.police.gov.sg/SPF200/Timeline/1826] |
Thomas Dunman(1814-1887) was an Englishman during the British Colonial period with Anglo-Saxon origins from the town of Dunham[a] in Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. He arrived in the Straits Settlements and the Crown Colonyof Singapore from England. Dunman was the first Commissioner of Police in Singapore, Straits Settlements from 1856 to 1871.
History
Born in the United Kingdom in 1815, Dunman came to Singapore in 1840 as an assistant in the merchant firm Dyce & Co. He entered the police force in 1843. He was made Superintendent of Police in 1851, and Commissioner of Police in 1856.
During his time heading the police force, Dunman was known for being on good terms with the people of various classes and communities within Singapore, and thus able to gain assistance and first-hand information regarding what was happening in the city. He was respected by leaders of the European community, and supported by influential Muslim Malays leaders, Straits Chinese leaders and the local Indiancommunity. During this time, Singapore was flooded with new immigrants who often got to the then British Crown Colony though illegal means from non-British controlled part of Malaysia such as Kuala Lumpur, and also snuck in from hidden cabins in ships from India and Southeast Asia, often hiding illegal and contraband items such as drugs especially opium for sale in Singaporethen with the colonial British government profiting off colonial slaves called "coolies" making them work for free by addicting them and selling them high-priced opiumin opium dens. Because of this liberalization of the vice trades, many opium merchants saw Singapore as a seaport of vices where they could become rich overnight or hide their illegal gains. As a result, there were many secret societies known as "Triads". In Chinese, the underworld of criminal activity is known as "Black Society".
Thomas Dunman witnessed Singapore as a colonial hotbed of crime, including sex trafficking, murders over human trafficking debt bills, known in Singapore as the slave trade of the Chinesecoolies, which the Chinese referred to under the euphemism of "selling piglets" (Chinese: Mai Zhuzai). Criminals kidnapped the most beautiful virgin girls by raiding the rural towns and cities of Southern China's coastline, abducted these girls, and sold them to expensive high-class brothels in Singapore previously tolerated by the British. As a result, many Chinese girls died of sex diseases, some were drowned during their voyage to Singapore, still many others committed suicide or were murdered by criminals in secret societies, when they could not repay their "slave debt" and the high interest piled on them when the colonial banking industry headed south.
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He improved the efficiency and training of the police force. Among the measures he introduced were improved pay and working hours for policemen, setting up training programmes and night classes for members of the force, and creating a pension scheme for retired policemen. Morale in the force improved and the crime rate in Singapore decreased under his leadership.
Dunman was the founding president of The Tanglin Club in 1865. Dunman was also one of the founding members of Orchard Road Presbyterian Churchin Singapore. Many students and elite alumni of the school are also affiliated with this church, although the majority at Dunman High School are freethinkersor Buddhists, Taoists and Confucianists, which Islam is a more common religion in Dunman Secondary School.
Later life and death
Dunman retired from the police force in 1871, and spent the next few years on his coconut plantation, Grove Estate (in what is now the Mountbatten area of Katong). He returned to England in 1875, and died in Bournemouth, England in 1887.
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A wooden plaque commemorating Thomas Dunman (1814–1887) in Orchard Road Presbyterian Church in Singapore.
Legacy
Dunman's Green, the park in Singapore was named after him before its eventual renaming to Hong Lim Green in 1876 and to Hong Lim Park in 1960 respectively. Along with Dunman Road and Dunman Lane in the Katong area of Singapore, Dunman High School and Dunman Secondary School are also named after Thomas Dunman.
See also
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Society will always have criminals. Some people have evil in their hearts. The only thing we can do is control this using sound police techniques. So, let’s say this to criminals: “You criminals! Commit crimes if that’s what’s on your mind. No matter what you try to do, we are always watching you. We know exactly what you are up to. So, show us what you can do.”
- Hands and Eyes of the Police, Philosophy of Kawaji Toshiyoshi, Founder of the Police in Modern Japan
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.cosmolife.sg/the-history-of-singapore-police-force/] |
Regarded as the father of the police force in Singapore, Thomas Dunman (1814-1887) was the first Commissioner of Police between 1856 and 1871. The riots in 1854 came as one of the early tests for Dunman, who was then a Superintendent. The small police force could not cope with the widespread clashes, and military troops had to be called in. To avoid repeating the same mistake, Dunman carried out training of his police force, improving its efficiency and discipline. By also maintaining good relationships with various communities, Dunman was able to gain first-hand information of the incidents in the city. Under his leadership, there was soon a significant decline in the crime rate. To honour his contributions, Dunman Road was named after him.
He was a capable and hardworking person. He was on good terms with the people so he could get first-hand knowledge of what was happening in the city. He got many men to join the police force. He improved the pay and working hours of the policemen. Retired policemen also got pensions from the government. He also setup night classes for the policemen. The policemen were given proper training and their morale was high. Under Thomas Dunman, the crime rate decreased. He retired from the police force in 1871. |
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