Newly admitted inmates to be assessed if their families need support

By the first quarter of next year, all newly admitted inmates at Changi Prison will be assessed on their families' needs, and those who require support will be referred to family service centres (FSCs) for help.

A trial conducted by the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) from 2018 to 2020 found that families of inmates need more support during the first and last six months of the incarceration.

At the start, dynamics may be unstable for reasons such as loss of income. Towards the end, families need to prepare for the inmates' return and provide support for reintegration.

Ms Caroline Lim, assistant commissioner and director of the rehabilitation and reintegration division of SPS, said inmates are often worried about their families when they enter prison, which in turn distracts them from focusing on what they need to do.

"The collaboration is important, because if inmates are worried about how their family is doing on the outside, that distracts them from their own rehabilitation process," she said.

"Through the trial, we found that once the family is stabilised, it can be a very strong source of support for inmates as they go through their stay in prison."

SPS and FSCs have an ongoing collaboration to provide support to the families of inmates, especially those with young children.

Ms Lim said efforts to assist and involve inmates' families in their rehabilitation are also meant to mitigate the risk of inter-generational offending. In 2017, a study by the SPS found that one in every five inmates who is a parent will have a child who will commit a criminal offence themselves.

Fei Yue Family Service Centre social worker Amelia Lim said help can be given to families in areas such as housing and finances.

"We serve as a service linkage for the families to financial and housing boards," said Ms Lim. "We refer them to agencies such as social service offices for financial assistance, and appeal on their behalf to the Housing Board."

Families also receive counselling support, she said.

The pilot programme was launched in October 2020 for all newly admitted local female inmates, and male inmates in the drug rehabilitation centres and remand centre last year. More than 800 inmates have been assessed, and more than 400 families have been helped.

Speaking to reporters at a media event at Fei Yue Family Service Centre yesterday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said engaging inmates early upon their entry into prison is necessary to lighten their families' feeling of loss, and allow them to continue with their lives.

Correction note: An earlier version of the story said that one in every five children of drug offenders had committed a criminal offence themselves. This is inaccurate. One in every five inmates who is a parent will have a child who will commit a criminal offence themselves.