JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

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(Effectiveness of programmes): **

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Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) if he will provide an update on the state of juvenile delinquency in Singapore and the effectiveness of the prevention and reformative training programmes; and (b) whether more support should be given to youth centres in HDB neighbourhoods to reach out to youths-at-risk.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: As a society, we strive to build a safe and secure environment for our young to grow up in. We invest heavily in the healthcare and education of our youth and children. While the majority of our youths mature to be contributing citizens of society, a small number of them go down the path of delinquency and crime.

Over the years, the number of arrests of juveniles aged seven to 15 has dropped from 2,637 in 2004 to 1,783 in 2009. Shop theft is the most common offence committed. Arrests for rioting are also of concern, accounting for one in 10 juveniles arrested.

The decrease in juvenile arrests indicates that our efforts have helped our young stay away from crime. Crime prevention roadshows and prison visits for students educate our youths on the consequences of breaking the law. Parents are also alerted of their children’s at-risk activities through the "Youth Hanging Out Late" letters by the Police. Under the Enhanced STEP-UP Programme, local community agencies provide client-centric intervention to guide students at risk of dropping out of school to be re-engaged either with schools or alternative meaningful activities.

For the youth offenders, we have a range of community- and institutional-based rehabilitative programmes to help them learn from their mistakes and get a second chance in life. The Guidance Programme and Probation Programmes provide youths who committed petty offences with offence specific intervention, community service and experiential activities to teach them positive life skills and reduce the risks of re-offending. Offenders placed in the institutional Juvenile Homes spend about two to three years in a purpose-built facility and attend therapeutic, educational and character development programmes to address the offending behaviour and prepare them for reintegration into society. The StreetWise Programme specifically targets youths who found their way into gangs, and provides them with a series of counselling, life skills, recreational and social programmes as well as academic and career guidance in order to steer them away from all forms of association with their gang and help them make a fresh start in life.

Our rehabilitative efforts are showing gradual positive outcomes. The recidivism rate for the juvenile offenders who have gone through the Guidance Programme, probation or Juvenile Homes has dropped from 23.9% among cases closed in 2003 to 19.8% among cases closed in 2006. Recidivism here refers to having re-offended within three years after completion of a rehabilitation programme.

For the StreetWise Programme, up till December 2009, 1,017 youths have been referred to the programme. Among youths who have completed the programme, only one in 10 had offended within one year following completion. In November 2010, a revised model for the programme has been introduced, which will have greater emphasis on individual and family counselling as well as gang intervention topics.

Despite the low recidivism, the Government recognises that we need to go upstream, to keep our youths away from crime from the start and break the cycle of offending and re-offending early. To strengthen the upstream efforts, the Central Youth Guidance Office (CYGO) was formed in July this year which will comprise officers from the three key ministries – MOE, MCYS and MHA. CYGO has been studying solutions that will enhance outreach to youths-at-risk and coordinate intervention services at the local level to help these youths effectively, and will be piloting some of these ideas soon.

Each and every one of our youths is precious and carries our hope for a better future for Singapore. CYGO and MCYS will continue to work with relevant agencies and explore better solutions that will help our young live a crime-free life so as to develop their full potential to be contributing members of society.

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