Home Team Academy
The Home Team Academy (abbreviation: HTA; Chinese: 内政团队学院) is the training institute for various organisations of the Ministry of Home Affairs in Singapore, including the Singapore Police Force, the Singapore Civil Defence Force, the Central Narcotics Bureau, the Singapore Prison Service, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, and the Internal Security Department, amongst other agencies. Located at 501 Old Choa Chu Kang Road, it cost about S$276 million to build. It was operational since January 2006, had an operational launch in April 2006, and was officially opened on 2 September 2006 with an open house and concert [1] [2].
History
Plans for a new training ground to replace the old Police academy at Thomson Road of the Singapore Police Force laid the foundation for the development of the HTA. When plans were mooted to incorporate other organisations involved in law enforcement, such as the auxiliary police forces, the facility was tentatively named as the Law Enforcement Academy of Singapore (or LEAS for short). Subsequent changes to also include the training schools of other "Home Team" organisations led to a renaming of the complex as the Home Team Academy.
On 31 December 2005, a "moving parade" was conducted by the police force to signify its transition from the old academy to the new HTA. After a simple parade at the old parade grounds, officers did a relay run of 42 kilometres to the Choa Chu Kang complex, where another parade was held. The police's Training Command thus began operations in the new academy from the beginning of 2006. The old premises was renamed the Old Police Academy by mid-2006.
The Academy took in its first batch of Police National Service Fulltime recruits of the 122th intake, which graduated with a passing out parade on 6 April 2006.
The Prisons Staff Training School and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority Academy fully shifted all operations to HTA by February 2006.
HTA had its operational launch in April 2006, and was declared officially opened on 2 September 2006 by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Wong Kan Seng.
Organisation
The academy incorporates various schools, including
- Police academy (Singapore Police Force)
- Prisons Staff Training School (Singapore Prison Service)
- Immigration and Checkpoints Authority Academy (Immigration and Checkpoints Authority)
The academy is managed by Chief Executive Tay Swee Yee and with Wong Heng Yuen Melvin as its Senior Assistant Director and Foo Chee Yin as Assistant Director [3].
The Home Team Cadet Corps Headquarters (HTCC HQ) is co-located within the Academy, overseeing the managerial and administrative functions of the National Police Cadet Corps and the National Civil Defence Cadet Corps.