Move over, Paw Patrol: S’pore pre-schoolers learn to run, hide and tell from a Police Pal guide

SINGAPORE – An SGSecure Police Pal storybook was launched on Oct 5 to teach preschoolers what to do if they spot a suspicious stranger or item.

Titled Run, Hide and Tell: An SGSecure Story, the book uses animal characters to teach young children the importance of staying alert, moving away from danger and seeking help from a trusted adult.

It was launched by Second Minister for Home Affairs Sim Ann during an SGSecure Carnival at MOE Kindergarten @ West Spring in Bukit Panjang.

She read the storybook to a class of Kindergarten 2 students, and joined over 200 preschoolers, teachers, and police officers in emergency-themed activities and colouring sessions.

The book, produced jointly by the Singapore Police Force and the SGSecure Programme Office, is the final installment in the Police Pal series first rolled out in 2024 for children aged four to six.

The minister said: “Through the SGSecure-themed Police Pal storybook, we hope to show our children how to respond when they see something or someone suspicious.

“Even at a young age, our children can learn steps like “Run, Hide, Tell” to stay safe and seek help when needed. We hope parents can reinforce these lessons at home, so that preparedness becomes a habit from young.”

The kindergarten’s centre head Rico Chan said that the preschoolers easily understood the concept of a stranger carrying a suspicious item into school and know they should run away.

“I think a lot of times it’s about managing them and telling them that the teachers are there with them...(and) it’s also important to remain orderly and listen to the instructions,” Chan said.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had said recently that many years of peace and security here may result in Singaporeans “letting their guard down”.

In a speech on Sept 23 to commemorate SGSecure’s 10th anniversary, he also said that the sense of safety in Singapore should not be taken for granted.

He noted reports of close calls involving the authorities stopping potential lone-wolf attacks just weeks prior to the planned attacks.

The self-radicalised individuals include a 17-year-old whom the Internal Security Department detained in 2024 while he was devising an attack at a neighbourhood centre near Tampines West Community Club.

“We managed to intervene in time before anyone was hurt. But things could have turned out very differently.

“What if one day, despite our best efforts, something gets through? No security system can give us a 100 per cent guarantee,” PM Wong said.

On Sept 10, 2026, ISD’s annual threat assessment report showed that the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East are contributing to the high terrorism threat facing Singapore.

The report noted that the conflicts have contributed to growing hostilities between communities. While anti-Semitism has surged in many parts of the world, so did anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobia.

ISD said youth radicalisation is also a pressing concern, with cases involving young people almost quadrupling from four between 2017 and 2021 to 15 in 2022.

Since July 2025, six out of eight new ISA cases involved youths below 21

In the region, some schools have faced violent attacks over the past year.

On Aug 7, a 14-year-old student in Thailand killed seven people including teachers, and injured 23 others in a shooting rampage at a school near Bangkok. He later took his own life.

In the southern Philippines, a Sept 18 high school shooting left three students dead and eight injured, marking the country’s third school attack in under three months.

In Jakarta, over 90 people were injured on Nov 7, 2025, after a 17-year-old student detonated explosives at a high school mosque during Friday prayers. The suspect, a 17-year-old male student, was injured.

At the SGSecure Carnival, parent Chua Mei Ling said the book was helpful in explaining national security and threats to a child.

“The book is very easy to understand... I don’t think (national security and emergency preparedness) is a topic I can (easily) raise with my kid,” said Chua, 39.

Her daughter Juel Lee, 6, had no problem explaining the book to reporters. She said a “bad guy” in the book had tried to harm the school.

She added: “We have to learn how to protect ourselves (because) we want to survive.”