History of TRACOM
Between 1820 and 1942
Prior to 1881, no provision was made to train officers of the SPF apart from instructions in drill and physical education. This lack of training was one of the major reasons for the poor performance of the SPF and its consequent low prestige. Following the Commission of Inquiry convened in 1879 (headed by the Colonial Secretary, Cecil Smith, the Treasurer, W.W. Williams, and three others, W.H. Read, W. Scott, T. Shelford), the Commissioner (Samuel Dunlop, CMG) recommended the establishment of a PoliceSchool for the training of SPF officers.
In 1881, a police school of sorts was initiated and classes for police constables and inspectors were organised according to their ethnic background. This phase of training lasted until 1905, when a Training School was formed in Malacca for the purpose of training the various police forces in the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malacca and Penang).
Due to the inconvenience of sending recruits to Malacca for training, a temporary training establishment known as the Police Depot was set up in the vicinity where Shenton Way now stands. It was moved to a more permanent site in Thomson Road in 1929.
After the War
In 1945, after the war, the Police Depot was renamed the Police Training School (PTS). The force also opened its doors to women in 1949. The first Women Police Unit within the Special Constabulary consisted of 1 Inspector, 1 Sergeant, 4 Corporals, and 34 Constables.3 It continued to provide training facilities for officers till 1962.
Merger with Malaysia
On 17 September 1963, i.e. one day after Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo (now Sabah) to form Malaysia, the SPF was formally integrated into the Royal Malaysian Police Force (RMPF). Basic training for officers was henceforth taken over by the Police Training Depot in Kuala Lumpur. The first batch of 122 officers was sent there for training in October 1963. Inspectors and other senior officers of the SPF were sent to the Police College at Kuala Kubu Baru for further training. Thus, the PTS in Singapore was left with training of the intermediate junior officers. During this time, PTS was renamed Sekolah Latihan Polis. It was only reverted back to PTS after Singapore’s separation from Malaysia on 9 August 1965.
Independent Singapore
When the SPF underwent a streamlining exercise, PTS was renamed as the Singapore Police Academy (SPA). It was officially opened on 2 August 1969 by Mr Lim Kim San, the Minister of Interior and Defence then. The birth of SPA marks a significant milestone in the history of the SPF as it reaffirms and demonstrates the importance attached by the latter to training as one of the major means for improving and upgrading the calibre of its officers.
In 1997, TRACOM was formed following the amalgamation of the SPA and the SPF Training Department. In 2006, after 77 years of occupying and using the site in Thomson Road, TRACOM shifted its training ground to the Home Team Academy.
