SINGAPORE: The drug reoffending rate has increased for the third straight year, but the , overall recidivism rate , remains “low and stable”, said the Singapore Prison Service ( SPS) on Tuesday ( Feb 11 ).
The two-year recidivism rate for the , Drug Rehabilitation Centre’s ( DRC ) 2022 release cohort was 30.8 per cent, up from 27.7 per cent the year before,  , 26.1 per cent for the 2020 cohort and 24.5 per cent in 2019, according , to , the latest annual statistics released on Tuesday.
A two-year incarceration rate measures the proportion of local criminals who were detained, jailed, or given a moment reporting get within two years of their community release.
The entire two-year recidivism rate was 21.3 per share for the 2022 launch group, down substantially from 22 per cent the preceding year. This is also one of the lowest two-year incarceration costs worldwide, added SPS.
The entire two-year incarceration rates for women have also been constantly falling over the past five years of launch cohorts, from 19.1 per share for the 2018 group to 13 per share for the 2022 group, said SPS.
It attributed this to its gender-specific custodial approach to adult prisoners, which included educating them on the offending processes and arranging rehabilitation programs to help them reintegrate into society.
Singapore’s general five-year incarceration rate continued to fall over the past five decades of transfer groups, from 41.7 per share for the 2015 group to 36.6 per share for the 2019 group. SPS reported that the price also dropped for the third consecutive month below 40 %.
SPS noted that the entire recidivism rate is higher than the 5-year recidivism rate for DRC prisoners, which is also up from the 2015 launch batch to 43 % for the 2019 group.
However, it said that the development is also “testament to the , treatment and community , reconciliation efforts” of SPS and its neighborhood partners, as more ex-offenders are able to withdraw from violence and drugs for the longer term.
According to SPS, those who had at least one prior conviction for drug gang reoffended were three times as likely to do so than those who had not.
Repeat drug abusers also “typically had weak social , support and faced challenges in building a strong support network after their discharge from the DRC , into the community”,  , a 2021 SPS study found.
It was thus” crucial , to increase the social and , community capital of drug abusers within a throughcare ecosystem to support their successful , rehabilitation and reintegration”, said the prison service.
SUPPORT REINTEGRATION, INCREASE EMPLOYABILITY
To assist with offenders ‘ rehabilitation and reintegration, SPS collaborates with Yellow Ribbon Singapore, community partners, and volunteers.
The prison service reported that over the years, it has increased and actively engaged its volunteer force, increasing from 2,400 in 2021 to over 4,200 in 2024.
Volunteers will be trained in SPS ‘ correctional work, including learning how to work with inmates, ex-offenders and their communities.
Through skills training, career placement, and career retention, Yellow Ribbon Singapore also assists in improving the employability of former and current prisoners.
Last year, 3, 973 inmates were trained, with an average of 102 training hours per person- a 28 per cent increase in training hours from 2023, said SPS.
This was primarily due to longer, more in-depth training programs, as well as new courses in the retail and food services sectors, which the prison service added.
The number of employers who support the hiring of ex-offenders increased from 6, 516 in 2023 to 6, 712 last year.