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The Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation (, and the sole entity licensed to provide armed security services to any paying customer in Singapore . It is one of the three commercial security companies authorised to provide armed security officers in Singapore to government organisations as well as private companies. CISCO has its roots as a department of the Singapore Police Force (SPF), but was branched out as an independent statutory board to relieve manpower constrains by empowering it with the abilities in conducting its own recruitment schemes tailored specifically for armed security services, and offering these services to paying customers. Armed officers, however, continue to train at facilities provided by the SPF, attending a 7-week residential training course at the CISCO Police Training School, which is adjacent to the Police Academy . As of 1 June 2005 , the statutory board was corporatised and its responsibilities transferred to CISCO Security Private Limited, a new government-owned company. HISTORY CISCO came into being in 1972 in the wake of a police employment scheme review by a committee led by Professor Lee Soo Ann a year earlier. It recommended that the Singapore Police Force 's Guard and Escort Unit, formed in 1958 , be hived of as a Statutory Board of the Government Of Singapore . At its dissolution, the Guard and Escort Unit had a strength of 1,600 police officers, who received the same training as their counterparts in police divisions, and are mostly deployed as guards in commercial banks. The new statutory board absorbed most of these regular officers, although the committee recommended the early retirement of 460 older officers, with an enhances pension scheme offered to them as compensation. A recruitment drive was also initiated on 1 April to recruit other police officers and boost its strength to 2,000. CISCO, as a separate statutory board, became Singapore 's only commercial entity offering armed security services. Its policemen continue to receive training at the Police Academy at Thomson Road , although over time, the course was streamline to fit their operation needs, and instruction was gradually taken over by fellow CISCO officers. CISCO police officers were dressed largely similar to their counterparts in the Singapore Police Force , and CISCO vehicles were also largely similar, except with the addition of a CISCO logo. In the next decades, the company diversified its operations beyond the provision of armed guards, providing a range of security-related services, including enforcement, management, and consultancy services for not just physical, but also data and IT-related needs. The armed police operations were organised under the name of CISCO Auxiliary Police under the Product Division, together with the CISCO Recall Total Information Management Pte Ltd and other specialised departments. Incidents
CORPORATISATION Over the years, the license to provide armed security services has been extended to other companies, including the Auxiliary Police Forces operated by PSA Corporation , Changi International Airport Services , Singapore Airport Terminal Services , and Singapore Technologies Kinetics , although these officers have their policing powers restricted to their areas of operation. In the wake of rising security concerns, the government decided to introduce greater competition in the armed security service industry. As a result of measure to create a more Level Playing Field , the CISCO Act was dissolved, and CISCO ceased being a statutory board, corporatised as a fully-government owned company, and coming under the same legislative and regulatory guidelines as the other Auxiliary Police Forces. The new company will not longer utilise the Singapore Police Force's crest, and changes will be made to the uniforms of its police officers, in line with its counterparts in the armed security industry. To minimise disruptions during the corporatisation process, the Ministry of Home Affairs transferred all of its former statutory board's assets, liabilities, staff and contracts to the new company, and did not give it a Moratorium since the statutory board has already engaged in commercial services. The new company took over all businesses the statutory board had engaged in, and is now liberated to enter or exit from contracts based on its own commercial interests. On 1 June 2005 , the corporatisation process was completed and the new CISCO Security Private Limited formed. UNIFORMS CISCO police officers wore the same dark blue police uniform as their regular counterparts, although distinctive differences could be noted as time progressed, and uniform reviews took place both on the regular and CISCO sides. The most distinguishing feature of CISCO officers is probably by their Beret , as opposed to Peak Cap s worn by regular land division officers. Name tags worn by CISCO officers have a white border, compared to the SPF's all-black tags. Some uniform reviews undertaken by the Singapore Police Force were not fully implemented by CISCO, such as the change from combat long-sleeved tops to short-sleeved ones for regular police officers. The majority of CISCO police officers continue to wear the long-sleeved version, rolled up to elbow level. The adoption of embroidered ranks, cap badges, and collar lapels in place of the metal versions by the police force was only effected for ranks in CISCO. The uniforms continued to be worn for a few days by the newly corporatised CISCO Security , although it was already being reviewed. CISCO Security officers switched to a new uniform on 15 June 2005 . SEE ALSO
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