Upholding The Values And Integrity of The Home Team - Dpm teo chee hean

so that they can perform their duties well. Our Home Team officers work round the clock, 365 days a year -- investigating and solving crimes, manning our immigration checkpoints, responding to medical and fire emergency calls and more. They bring justice to victims, protect the vulnerable from harm, and steer people who have broken the law back onto the right path. In all they do, Home Team officers are expected to act with honour and integrity. As I said in this House last month, when officers perform well, I will recognise and commend their good work publicly. And so should we all. Give them a pat on the back when they do well. If they act professionally and discharge their duties properly and to the best of their abilities, but the outcome does not turn out as well as expected, I will still support them publicly -- for this is difficult and challenging work that they do in the Home Team, and they need our support and encouragement. So do give them your support and encouragement too, when the outcome is not as good as one might even have expected. However, if they do not discharge their duties properly and fall short of the standards expected of the Home Team, I will hold them accountable and where warranted, admonish and discipline them. We will not tolerate wilful misconduct, abuse of power or a lack of integrity. This is not only fundamentally wrong at the individual level, but also tarnishes the Home Team's reputation, and undermines the public trust that our officers have collectively and painstakingly built up over the years. Madam Chairperson, the individual Home Team agencies already have a system of carrying out investigations into allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct by their officers. To strengthen this system, I have decided to set up an Independent Review Panel. When directed by the Minister, the Panel will review the findings of internal investigations into cases of serious alleged misconduct by an officer in his official capacity. Examples include cases which have resulted in death or serious injury, cases which obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice, or where it is in the public interest to do so. The Panel will report directly to the Minister, and review whether the allegations are substantiated, and whether the investigations were thorough and carried out in a fair manner. The members of the Panel will comprise prominent members of the community, including people with deep legal knowledge and experience, and also include former senior Home Team officers. The Panel will ensure that there are independent, robust and fair processes in place to review allegations of misconduct by Home Team officers. And this will in turn foster greater public trust and confidence in the integrity of the Home Team.