Public Consultation on Conditional Remission System and Mandatory Aftercare Scheme

Ministry of Home Affairs - Policy Development Division

Consultation Period: 22 Jul 2013 - 12 Aug 2013

Status: Closed

Summary

The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Singapore Prison Service are seeking feedback on the proposed introduction of a Conditional Remission System and Mandatory Aftercare Scheme.

Detailed Description

PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON
CONDITIONAL REMISSION SYSTEM AND MANDATORY AFTERCARE SCHEME
 
Aim

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Singapore Prison Service (“Prisons”) are seeking feedback on the proposed introduction of a Conditional Remission System (CRS) and Mandatory Aftercare Scheme (MAS).

Background

2.            Prisons play a critical role in keeping Singapore a safe and secure home. Apart from ensuring the safe custody of inmates, Prisons also rehabilitate and reintegrate inmates back into society to keep them from re-offending and help them become law-abiding citizens.

3.            Prisons strive to keep recidivism down. The two-year recidivism rate has decreased from about 40% for the 2000 release cohort to 23.6% for the 2010 release cohort. The prison population has also decreased over time.

4.            Although fewer ex-inmates are returning to prison, many who do are repeat offenders. They form more than 80% of the prison population and are also more likely to re-offend upon their release, especially in the first year after their release when they are at their most vulnerable. Many of these repeat offenders also have drug antecedents. We need to do more to deter ex-offenders from re-offending, help ex-offenders break the cycle of re-offending, and help them reintegrate into the community.

Conditional Remission System (CRS) and Mandatory Aftercare Scheme (MAS)
 
5.            Today, most inmates are given remission and are released early at the two-third mark of their sentence. They are not subject to any conditions when they are released. In contrast, many other jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and Canada have parole systems that impose conditions on inmates upon their early release.

6.            MHA and Prisons plan to revise the current remission system to a new Conditional Remission System (CRS). The release at the two-third mark will remain for most prisoners. However, with the CRS, all inmates released at the two-third mark will be issued with a Conditional Remission Order, which will last up till the end of their sentence (i.e. the “remission period”). The Order will subject them to a basic condition that they should not be convicted of another offence committed during the remission period and be sentenced to imprisonment for that offence. 

7.            If they do, they will be dealt with by the courts for breaching the basic condition, on top of being dealt with for their new offence. The sentence for breaching the basic condition will be capped at the unexpired portion of their remission period.

8.            In addition to the CRS, a smaller group of released inmates assessed to be at higher risk of re-offending will be placed on the new Mandatory Aftercare Scheme (MAS). The MAS is a compulsory structured aftercare regime which provides more scaffolding, tighter supervision, and enhanced community support to ex-inmates, to keep them from re-offending.

9.            The MAS will be for a period of up to 2 years. The MAS seeks to gradually reintegrate the ex-inmate into society through progressive step-down arrangements.  For example, the ex-inmate may be placed in a halfway house immediately on release and after a period of time, may be placed on home supervision. Ex-inmates on the MAS will be closely supervised with restrictions such as curfew hours and electronic monitoring. As part of their rehabilitation programme, they will undergo counselling and case management.

10.         Together, the CRS and MAS will help MHA and Prisons keep Singapore a safe and secure home. They augment our current efforts, working with community partners, to reduce offending and re-offending and improve the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-inmates back into society. However, even as we provide the ex-inmate with the structures and support for rehabilitation, it is ultimately the responsibility of the individual not to re-offend. If he does, he will be dealt with swiftly and strictly by the law. 

Submission of Comments
 
11.         We welcome your comments and feedback on the proposed CRS and MAS. Please send your comments by 12 Aug 2013, 5pm to the following email address: mha_prisons_consultation@mha.gov.sg. To facilitate collation of your feedback, we request that you identify yourself and the organisation you represent (if any), as well as the proposal that you are providing feedback on.

12.         We regret that we will not be able to separately address or acknowledge every single comment we receive. However, we will consolidate and publish a summary of the key comments received, together with our responses, on the REACH website after the consultation exercise closes.

13.         Thank you. 

Response to Public Feedback on CRS and MAS [PDF, 20 KB]