PSS219 – Public Safety and Security Strategies for Atlantis

Question 1

Read this fictitious scenario before answering the questions.

Atlantis is a small country located in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Situated along a busy international shipping route, it is a major port of call for ships traversing between the eastern and western hemispheres. Due to the efficiency of its workforce, and its prudent investments in technology, it is increasingly becoming a favoured port of call for international shipping lines.

The economic growth of Atlantis is gradually strengthening, having invested heavily in technology and infrastructure to support its shipping, manufacturing, and digital development sectors. If investor confidence remains stable, Atlantis has the potential to become a bustling cosmopolitan city like Singapore. The Atlanteans have always been impressed with the socioeconomic progress and achievements of Singapore and are eager to learn from their Singaporean counterparts.

Atlantis is a multi-racial and multi-religious society. The country is home to three major tribes who live in different parts of the island. These tribes make up the majority of their population. The Marinars tend to settle along the coastlines of the country, working in the fishing and marine industries, whilst the Plantars have several settlements inland where they operate large factories and most of the plantations in the country. The smallest tribe are the Numeros who live and work in the digital and finance sectors in the city centre. These three tribes, along with several smaller tribes are generally peace-loving but they tend to stay in homogenous community groups and remain rooted in their religious and cultural practices. Although the tribes are lawabiding, they are sensitive to words or actions that they consider offensive or disrespectful to their religion and culture. As a result, there have been occasional clashes between the tribal groups in the past due to insensitive comments and misunderstandings.

Beneath the veneer of the Atlantean prosperity and stability are several public safety and security concerns, particularly in the area of national security, substance abuse, and scams.

In the area of national security, the Atlanteans are a target of a large and aggressive country called Corona. Coronians have long been jealous of the Atlanteans and occasionally make veiled threats against the Atlanteans. Fortunately, sanctions by the international community and the occasional presence of international maritime patrols have deterred the Coronians from any overt aggressive action. Corona has been careful to avoid appearing as an aggressor, but has been known to use hybrid warfare techniques, such as fake news and misinformation to sow discord amongst the Atlanteans. The Coronians are also notorious for disrupting maritime traffic entering and leaving Atlantean waters. On several occasions, Coronian saboteurs have also been caught attempting to infiltrate sensitive government installations, although Corona has vehemently denied all knowledge and responsibility for those activities. Lately, there has even been an increased occurrence of poorly assembled explosive devices found outside government offices. While small, those devices could cause mass casualty emergencies if activated at public gatherings.

Like many countries, crime exists in Atlantis. Although violent crime is not rampant, vape manufacturing and distribution is becoming a growing problem in the country. Vaping and possessing vaping devices are illegal in Atlantis, but that has not deterred crime syndicates from exploiting Atlantis’ position as a shipping hub to illegally import and export materials required to assemble vaping devices. While authorities are working hard to locate and dismantle the supply chain and manufacturing centres, suspected to be located in the heart of the country, they have observed an increasing trend of vaping devices being secretly sold to curious teenagers, tourists and bored retirees in the back alleys around the country. The penalties for selling and buying vaping products are small fines, and online forums have criticised the Atlantean penalties for selling and buying vaping products as being non-deterrent. As a result, the Atlantean authorities are observing an increasing number of hospital admissions for vape poisoning or vaping-related illnesses. On top of posing health problems to the Atlanteans, vaping devices have also been reported to cause several house fires while they were being charged. The small Atlantean Fire Service is gradually becoming overwhelmed by those unnecessary and avoidable incidents.

Scams are also becoming a worrying problem in Atlantis. Scammers are actively preying on the innocence and gullibility of the Atlanteans, especially the older population. Last year alone, businesses and individuals lost more than $500 million to scammers impersonating bank employees, marketing agents touting low-risk high-yield investment schemes, and even anti-scam government officials. Buoyed by the success of their crimes, scam centres are becoming bolder and adopting more vicious and disruptive digital crimes such as ransomware attacks and secretly using Atlantean data centres to launch attacks on servers located in other countries. These digital crimes have begun to affect the reputation of Atlantis. Analysts have warned that if this situation continues, Atlantis could suffer international sanctions and a decline in tourism and foreign investment. Scams targeting the poor and elderly have even created social problems, with many victims becoming destitute and depressed. Authorities are also worried that some of the scams and misinformation campaigns may be a hybrid warfare tactic by Corona, not only for criminal gain but also to sow discord among the Atlantean tribes.

The Atlanteans have a small but dedicated regular military force, but experts have warned that Atlantis would not be able to mount a credible defence against the Coronians, should the latter decide to take a decisive step to capture all or part of Atlantis. This has been an issue that has vexed the Atlantean leadership for many years. The Atlantean police force and fire service are made up of dedicated professionals; however, they lack the experience and capabilities to address such complex security challenges effectively.

They have approached you to assist with the situation, leveraging your knowledge, skills, and experiences in public safety and security in Singapore.

Can you help the Atlanteans?

Question 1

The concerned Atlantean authorities would like to learn from the Singapore experience in dealing with the highlighted public safety and security issues. They have asked PSS219 students to advise them on how they can keep organised crime in check and enhance the overall security of their country.

(a) Based on the narrative above, compare the public safety and security environment between Atlantis and Singapore.

You may make relevant assumptions to support your answers. State your assumptions clearly, as well as appropriate case studies and references to support your answers.

(20 marks)

(b) Illustrate at least two public safety and security issues faced by the Atlanteans.

You may make relevant assumptions to support your answers. State your assumptions clearly, as well as appropriate case studies and references to support your answers.

(20 marks)

(c) Summarise how the Atlantean authorities can learn from Singapore’s experience in addressing one of the public safety and security issues you have highlighted in Question 1(b), using the 5-stage PSS cycle as a framework to guide your answers.

You may make relevant assumptions to support your answers. State your assumptions clearly, as well as appropriate case studies and references to support your answers.

(60 marks)

Safety & Security Answers: Expert Answers on Above Public Safety Questions

Comparison of public safety and security environment

In case of Atlantis, it faces hybrid threats from hostile neighbour Corona in the form of fake news, cyber attacks and sabotage. There are increasing cases of vape related crimes and cultural misunderstanding becomes an integral issue because of people from multiracial backgrounds. However in respect to Singapore, it has a strong national security and strict laws in the form of cyber security act, misuse of drugs act, and technology driven policing which further strengthens its security environment.

Two public safety and security issues in Atlantis

The two public safety and security issues can be vape manufacturing and distribution and scams and cyber crime. The vape manufacturing and distribution contributes towards health risks and increases strain on emergency services. The scans and cyber crimes are specifically targeted on elderly and poor which has been efficiently dealt with in Singapore through Anti Scam command, and strong cyber laws.

Experience of Singapore in using 5 stage PSS cycle

The five stage PSS cycle can be utilised in preventing scams and cyber crime, as prevention can be possible through launching a national awareness campaign, and implementing strong penalties. The preparedness can be achieved by considering adequate training provision for police in cyber investigation and promoting community education programs. The response stage requires a cyber crime response task force and promotes coordination across banks and authorities. The recovery process can be implemented by providing financial assistance for scam victims, and finally the review can be achieved through regularly evaluating the policies through Data Analytics.
The application of 5 stage PSS model would help Atlantis in strengthening its cyber resilience, improve enforcement and build public trust.

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