SINGAPORE - Since dropping to a 30-year low in 2021, the recidivism rate for the local inmate population within two years of release has been rising in the last two years.

This is according to the 2023 statistics released by the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) on Feb 14.

The figures also revealed that there are 3,981 drug rehabilitation centre (DRC) inmates, comprising those at the two DRCs at Changi Prison Complex’s B5 institution and Selarang Park Complex, and female DRC inmates at Institution A4.

According to publicly available statistics, this is the highest number since 2008.

Among the Singaporean and permanent resident offenders released from SPS custody in 2021, 22 per cent were detained, sentenced to jail, or given a day reporting order within two years of their release, according to the SPS data.

This is higher than the 20.4 per cent for the 2020 release cohort and the 20 per cent for the 2019 release cohort.

SPS said the increase between the 2020 and 2021 cohorts was largely due to the rise in the recidivism rate of repeat drug abusers. 

“Inmates with drug antecedents (prior drug offences) are about three times more likely to reoffend than those without.

“It is therefore important to continue focusing our efforts on the rehabilitation and reintegration of drug abusers,” it said.

The recidivism rate of those with at least one prior drug conviction for offences that include trafficking, consumption and possession was 29.2 per cent for the 2021 release cohort.

This figure is 9.4 per cent for those without prior drug offences.

Speaking to the media during a briefing on Feb 14, Assistant Commissioner of Prisons Karen Lee, the director of SPS’ Community Corrections Command, said challenges repeat drug offenders face include the lack of pro-social networks because they are in and out of the system, and their inability to hold on to jobs.

According to figures released by the Central Narcotics Bureau on Feb 14, there was a worrying increase in young and female drug abusers arrested in 2023.

SPS said that despite the rise in the two-year recidivism rate, the figure remains among the lowest internationally.

It added that the five-year recidivism rate, which stands at 36.8 per cent for the 2018 release cohort, is the lowest in the last five years.

Said SPS: “This improvement in the longer-term desistance of ex-offenders is likely due to the stronger pro-social support they are receiving when they are back in the community.”

Desistance is the act of abstaining from crime by those who have offended before, a process that requires community and other ongoing support.

The 2023 statistics also revealed that the assault rate in prisons here was 62.6 per 10,000 inmates between April 2022 and March 2023.

These cases include any attack on prison officers or assaults on fellow inmates where the victim is seriously injured.

Between April 2012 and March 2022, the yearly assault rates ranged between 24.4 and 48.

The current rate between April and December 2023 stands at 41.4.

The director of SPS’ corporate communications and service division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Prisons Soh Yen Li, said the DRC population and assault rate figures are both areas of concern.

On the assault rate, she said the safety of prison officers and inmates is SPS’ utmost priority.

She said the rate is still low compared with other jurisdictions, adding that it varies from year to year and depends on many factors such as triggers like conflicts and disagreements between inmates, as well as the profile of prisoners.

In 2022, SPS noted that there had been an increase in the number of offenders jailed for violent offences and said that such offenders were more prone to committing violence during incarceration.

Said DAC Soh: “We have, over the years, acted decisively against inmates who disregard the order of prison discipline and try to challenge the order.

“We have also introduced the use of restorative practice to help them develop healthy norms and to understand the consequences of their actions, and help them take responsibility for their own actions.”

Mr Cheng Xiang Long, principal psychologist at SPS’ psychological and correctional rehabilitation division, said there are two principles to restorative practice: to proactively build relationships among the inmates and to repair the harm that might be caused while restoring those relationships.

On reducing drug abuse recidivism, SPS said drug abusers undergo a range of rehabilitation programmes at the DRCs, including psychology-based correctional programmes that target their attitudes and beliefs towards drug abuse.

SPS said the most difficult challenge in desisting from drugs arises when abusers leave the DRC and return to society, as there is no longer a structure and enforced discipline to their daily lives.

“Therefore, upon release, we make it mandatory for drug abusers to undergo community corrections,” it added.

To better monitor and help those undergoing community corrections, SPS launched the Desistor Network in April 2023.

It has community partners working together to help desistors stay crime-free, and has 74 member organisations on board as at Dec 31, 2023.

Mr Thomas Chan, 45, a trainer with The New Charis Mission, is the non-profit organisation’s coordinator for the Desistor Network.

He spent six stints behind bars, mostly for drug offences. A turning point for him came during his last prison stint that began in 2010.

His then wife divorced him, and he lost custody of his son and daughter.

He met his children after he was released from prison in 2016. His daughter, who was one year old when she last saw him before he went to prison, could not recognise him.

Mr Chan said he now has a good relationship with his children.

His son, 17, was his best man when he remarried two years ago, and his former wife attended the wedding.

Mr Chan said the challenges released inmates face include a lack of family support, and unwillingness to leave their comfort zone.

To start afresh, he cut ties with friends with whom he took drugs.

He said: “In order to change, there are some sacrifices that need to be made.”

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said the 2023 statistics revealed that the assault rate in prisons here was 62.6 per 10,000 inmates between April 2021 and March 2022. This is incorrect. It should be between April 2022 and March 2023. We are sorry for the error.