Elderly, youth offenders are key groups of concern in rehabilitation

SINGAPORE - With a growing number of elderly inmates here, older offenders - in addition to young ones - are groups of concern in rehabilitation.

This was one of the issues raised at the start of a conference on Thursday (July 27) about innovative approaches in the rehabilitation of offenders.

The number of inmates here aged above 60 has increased more than two-fold, from 243 in 2010 to 650 last year, making up 5.4 per cent of the total prison population, said Professor Paul Cheung of the National University of Singapore's (NUS) social service research centre.

"For the elderly, will harsh sentencing and long jail terms really be effective in deterring crime, and improving chances of rehabilitation?" he asked.

He added that Singapore could look to Japan's experience, where it was reported that some seniors are driven to crime due to issues such as poverty, loneliness, and a lack of social support. "It is evident that a crucial part of helping elderly offenders requires community support," he said.

Meanwhile, there is also a need to focus on the youth, due to their future potential and ability to change.

Second Minister for Home Affairs Desmond Lee, who was guest-of-honour at the conference, highlighted the need for rehabilitation to be introduced earlier, and in a more targeted manner as well.

An example is the Youth Triage, introduced last year, allowing social workers to interview youth first when they are arrested.

Mr Lee added that efforts should also continue after offenders re-enter the community, and work on strengthening family support, addressing issues like income, social mobility, and reducing stigma.

While science and technology has helped the prison service to assess criminogenic risk and the risk of re-offending, shaping its programmes, this should not detract from the need for "tighter coordination and stronger collaboration among community stakeholders".

The day-long conference will see panels involving various stakeholders as well, including Ms Yvonne Kirk of the Singapore Prison Service's rehabilitation evaluation branch.

Among the issues that she is expected to address involves a study done within the prisons, showing that inmates who underwent a "through-care approach" had lower recidivism rates compared to others who did not, or received intervention only after their release.

This approach was implemented in 2012, targeting "high-risk" offenders who would receive interventions such as a 10-month psychology-based correctional programme and reintegration programmes. After release, they received casework management and supervision.

Other speakers include NUS Associate Professor Ganapathy Narayanan, who is expected to speak on social reintegration.