This photograph shows a police officer standing on an elevated platform on duty to direct traffic within the area. The Singapore Police Force begun as a modest 11-man organisation in 1819 under Francis James Bernard, son-in-law of William Farquhar, the first Governor of Singapore. The police force under the British colonial administration was dominated by Europeans and Indians. With the increased traffic flow on the roads at the turn of the 20th century, such traffic control at busy junctions became necessary to curb the high accident rate.
