Operational Vigilance in Border Security: the Singapore Experience

Abstract

In Singapore, officers of the border security agency are required to maintain 24 h, 7 days a week operation across various immigration checkpoints. As the day-to-day workload of a Singapore border security officer is physically demanding and operationally challenging, ensuring the highest level of operational vigilance is vital to operation success in border security operations. In this paper, ‘operational vigilance’ is defined as exercising cognitive agility and sustained attention for the duration of a work shift in a border security operational setting. To enhance and maintain operations in border security checkpoints, this paper explores the drivers of operational vigilance in border security from the Singapore experience. Twelve veteran border security officers participated in this study as subject matter experts from which a thematic analysis was used to extract insightful themes central to operational vigilance in a border security context. Findings from this study are used to provide a deeper understanding of drivers that affect operational vigilance in border security in the Singapore context and used as reference for enhancement of border security operations. Limitations and future directions were discussed.