New efforts introduced to support ex-offenders’ rehabilitation, lower recidivism rate

To better support ex-offenders to ease back into society, the workers who help them will be moved across organisations to share expertise, said Law Minister Edwin Tong on July 24.

The aftercare support sector will widen its network of partners, too.

These steps, along with assessing needs and reducing programme overlap, are part of new efforts to improve care for ex-offenders in the next five years.

The new framework for the Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders (Care) Network will guide the sector towards reducing recidivism among ex-offenders.

Singapore’s two-year recidivism rate has fallen from 40.1 per cent in 2000 to 21.3 per cent for the 2022 cohort, which is among the lowest globally. Recidivism refers to the tendency of an ex-inmate to reoffend. 

The five-year rate for the 2019 cohort was 36.6 per cent, marking the third straight year it has stayed below 40 per cent.

This is partly due to the collective work of the Care Network, which comprises agencies that support this work, said Mr Tong. He was speaking at the Care Network Summit and Correctional Practice and Research Symposium on July 24 at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay.

The network was set up in 2000 to encourage partners who provide aftercare and other services for inmates, ex-offenders and their families to work together.

Previously, agencies worked in isolation and were largely uncoordinated, said Mr Tong, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs.

Today, the network has 10 core members and more than 170 community partners. These include Yellow Ribbon Singapore, Singapore After-Care Association and Life Community Services Society.

Mr Tong said that Singapore is often seen as a country with tough laws and a strict system, but it is equally invested and puts a lot of weight on aftercare, integration and rehabilitation of ex-offenders.

The Care Network, which marks its 25th anniversary in 2025, wants to put in place more cross-sector mentorship programmes, allowing officers from the Singapore Prison Service and staff from community partners to be seconded to different organisations to share knowledge and best practices.

A steering committee will also look into the best ways to optimise resources and assess whether some initiatives should make changes to better meet beneficiaries’ needs.

New partnerships will also be fostered to expand support and opportunities. For instance, in 2024, the Industrial and Services Co-operative Society Limited teamed up with the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants to offer financial literacy workshops for ex-offenders and their families.

In his speech, Mr Tong said that the network has strengthened volunteer training, with 40 courses now available in areas like family work, managing addiction, and restorative practice. The network now has more than 4,000 volunteers.

Throughcare support for inmates, which refers to the support provided to individuals both during and after their time in custody, has also improved over the years.

In 2019, SPS introduced the Throughcare Volunteer Framework, which allows volunteers who have been supporting inmates to continue to do so after they have been released. The initiative now has more than 1,900 volunteers supporting ex-offenders.

SPS launched the Desistor Network in 2023 to give ex-offenders a platform to give back and help others turn away from a life of crime and drugs. Currently, more than 100 desistors volunteer their time to support and share their experiences with inmates and other ex-offenders.

One of them is 38-year-old Nur Azlina Zulkifli, who began using drugs at 12 and continued doing so for over a decade.

In 2012, at the age of 25, she was caught by the authorities and sent to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre. She relapsed in 2019 and was detained again.

“I think the reason I relapsed was because I did not have a support system when I was first released. My parents are conservative and strict, and I did not talk to anyone else about it because I felt ashamed,” she said.

After her second incarceration, she realised she needed more support to help her work through the emotional struggles of kicking an addiction. She joined a community programme by the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (Sana), and continued to volunteer there after completing it, to help other ex-offenders.

Ms Azlina, who works as a senior project manager now, started her own peer support group for ex-offenders, named Ultimate Friends SG, in 2024. She visits halfway houses and liaises with other organisations to look for ex-offenders who may be interested in joining the group. There were 60 people in the group as at July, up from 10 when it was started.

“I think having support like this can really affect whether someone chooses to reoffend,” she said.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

Fine for company director who played role in collecting $112k in kickbacks from migrant workers