PROBATION AND AFTERCARE SERVICE (Staff turnover)

Mr J. F. Conceicao asked the Minister for Social Affairs what the turnover rate is in respect of staff in the Probation and Aftercare Service; and if consideration is being given to a review of the terms and conditions of service of the staff in this section of his Ministry.

The Minister for Social Affairs (Encik Othman Bin Wok): Mr Speaker, Sir, the average turnover rate of the Probation and Aftercare Officers for the period 1969-73 was about 30 per cent. The figures are as follows: 1969 40 per cent 1970 46 per cent 1971 20 per cent 1972 14 per cent 1973 30 per cent It gives an average of 30 per cent.

The problem of recruitment and retention of trained social workers is not peculiar to the Probation and Aftercare Service alone. There is a general shortage of trained social workers in Singapore. Many of them prefer administrative, research and training jobs in the private sector, to field work in the Probation and Aftercare Service. The work of a Probation and Aftercare Officer is specialised and onerous. The Probation and Aftercare Officer has to work both during and outside of office hours to rehabilitate the offenders through supervision, which involves visits to homes and to places of work of the probationers. This type of work calls for the right attitude and training to help offenders to become socially useful and law-abiding citizens. It requires an officer with high leadership qualities and a strong character. He must be firm and at the same time sympathetic to the problems and needs of offenders and their families. The very specialised nature of the job, the lack of trained social workers, and the more attractive jobs in the private sector are the reasons for the high turnover of staff in the Service.

My Ministry recognises that with the rising crime and delinquency rate, the Probation and Aftercare Service has a vital part to play in the prevention of juvenile delinquency and the treatment of offenders. To fulfil its role in this aspect of community welfare and redevelopment, the Service has to be made sufficiently attractive, in comparison with other jobs in the civil service and in the private sector, to ensure the recruitment and retention of suitably qualified officers in the existing establishment. Proposals to strengthen the organisational structure of the department by the creation of more promotional posts to enable serving officers to better their prospects, as well as better salaries and conditions of service for officers, have already been submitted to the Ministry of Finance for consideration.