Singapore Prisons Department
NATIONAL REPORT ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN CORRECTIONS
Singapore has a total of 14 Penal Institutions and Drug Rehabilitation Centres (DRC). It provides safe and secure custody of over 18,500 inmates as at end-Aug 2002. 3% of the inmate population are placed on community-based programmes. They are predominantly male. The total staff strength is about 2,200 officers, comprising 500 senior uniformed officers, 1,500 junior uniformed officers and close to 200 non-uniformed staff.
REALISING OUR SHARED VISION
2. Since the beginning of year 2000, the Singapore Prisons Department has adopted a Strategic Framework For Action based on our new Vision and revised Mission, formulated in 1999. Four focal areas have been identified to provide us with the strategic direction for the next three years, spanning 2000 to 2003. These strategic focal areas are Enhanced Operational Capabilities, Staff Development, Integrated Incare, and Co-ordinated Aftercare. Three key levers have also been identified to help us propel our strategies forward, i.e., technology, knowledge management and community resources.
3. In the past year, the Department has continued to consolidate our strategies in the four focal areas to help us realise our vision and mission. Part of our mission statement reads, “we protect society through the safe custody and rehabilitation of offenders”. In order to achieve this basic tenet, we have implemented many initiatives and followed up on them to enhance both the hardware and the human aspects of inmate management.
ELEMENTS OF STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION:
IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP OF INITIATIVES
Enhanced Operational Capabilities
4. The Singapore Prisons Department recognises the importance to continuously improve and innovate on existing structures and practices. This is to enhance its operational capabilities which also takes into consideration the department’s responsiveness to the needs of its inmates and their families.
Tele-visiting System
5. In year 2001, the Department launched its first remote tele-visit centre at the Prisons Link Centre, located centrally in Singapore. This is to provide greater convenience and flexibility to the inmates’ families. In addition to the traditional face-to-face visits at the institutions, inmates’ families can now choose to ‘visit’ their loved ones in the privacy and comfort of tele-visit cubicles. They need not travel to the institutions located in remote areas.
6. This year, the Department has moved one step ahead in piloting the Home Tele-visiting System using video conferencing technologies via the Internet. Visitors will be able to ‘visit’ their loved ones (in prisons/DRCs) in the comfort of their homes. Visiting hours will be extended to weekends and after office hours. This will bring about greater flexibility and convenience to the visitors. More regular visits will serve to strengthen family bonds and provide the necessary motivation and support to the inmates.
Zero-Tolerance Policy
7. In April 2001, the Department has successfully implemented the Zero Tolerance Policy (ZTP) that required all inmates to renounce their gang affiliations. Subsequently, an Inmate Feedback Survey was conducted. Results showed that 66% of inmates interviewed felt that the prison environment was safer than before, and that gang activities had been reduced significantly. Most of the respondents attributed this to the implementation of the ZTP which they reported as having given the inmates the impetus to stay out of gangs and gang-related activities.
Outsourcing of Correctional Services (specific areas)
8. In year 2000 and 2001, the Department outsourced the provision of medical services and the external escort services for non high-risk inmates respectively, to private vendors who can better perform these functions. The purpose is to allow the Department to focus more on its core competencies. Through outsourcing, the Department has become a leaner organisation that is easier to manage and can react faster to change. This will be examined in the paper on ‘Outsourcing of Correctional Services”.
9. The quality of staff determines the success of any organisation. The Department needs the right people with the necessary intellectual capabilities, values and traits, to undertake the increasingly challenging and demanding roles of a Prison Officer. It is the Department’s aim to develop vision-centred staff who are able to influence positively the inmates placed under their supervision as well as their fellow officers. Such strategies include:
a. Using psychometric tests and reviewed criteria in the recruitment of Uniformed Officers. They complement the standard interview process by making the selection process more robust.
b. Competency-based appraisal and training framework. With this system, there will be clearer guidelines for the officers’ career development, as well as linkages to training, development and posting plans for the staff. It enhances the current systemic structures used to plan and appraise the work performance of staff through observable behaviours. Supervisors become coaches by providing the direction and support necessary for our officers to achieve their competencies.
Further details can be found in the paper on ‘Recruitment, Training and Career Development of Correctional Staff’.
10. The long-term protection of society can only be realised when inmates released from prisons change to become responsible citizens. The incarceration process can be divided into four phases, i.e., the Admission Phase, Deterrence Phase, Treatment Phase and Pre-release Phase. To date, integrated incare comprises many programmes that have been developed to address the different needs of inmates at each phase of their incarceration.
Inmate Classification System
Community Re-integration Programme
12. The Community Re-integration Programme (CRP) prepares inmates for their eventual return to society through the involvement of Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) at the pre-release phase. As community partners, they help the pre-release inmates learn how to adapt to various aspects of life associated with their re-integration, such as finding a job, managing their finances, coping with stigma, and re-establishing relationship with their family. Another initiative is the Play and Wait Programme, which aims to engage the children of prisoners in meaningful activities, such as reading and art and craft, while awaiting their turn to visit their parent during scheduled visits.
Progressive Privileges System
13. The Progressive Privileges System is a management tool designed to encourage good behaviour from inmates. Inmates who have behaved well consistently will be rewarded with certain progressive privileges, like access to recreational activities and contact visits with family members. However, such privileges will be curtailed if they are charged for committing any institutional offences.
Co-ordinated Aftercare
CARE Network
14. Co-ordinated aftercare supplements incare efforts to ensure successful rehabilitation and re-integration of offenders. Since May 2000, the Department has worked closely with various aftercare agencies to form the Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-offenders, or CARE Network. This is to ensure a seamless transition of programmes and services in the inmates’ incare and aftercare. In addition, the CARE Network sets guidelines and directions in the comprehensive provision of aftercare support services for discharged offenders and their families. The Family Support Programme has also been implemented in November 2001 to solicit the support of the family members when the ex-offenders return to the community.
15. In December 1998, the programme has been extended to convicted prisoners at the tail-end of their sentences. Tail-end Home Detention (TE-HD) currently serves as an avenue for the early release of prisoners who are amenable to rehabilitation. Under TE-HD, offenders are able to commute to work or pursue their studies while under the Electronic Monitoring System (EMS). Since the completion rate of the programme has been very positive (99.7% between May 2000 to August 2001), the selection criteria have been widened in August 2001 to include certain categories of repeat offenders. The average number of inmates emplaced on the programme have increased from 34 to 74 inmates per month between Aug 01 to Mar 02. Rehabilitation of convicted offenders will be the direction to go.
16. The redevelopment of the new Changi Prison Complex (CPC) by 2008, to house up to 23,000 inmates, will help to address the problems of non-purpose built institutions, overcrowding and increasing inmate population. The centralised layout and integrated workflow, as well as the pooling of common resources within the CPC, will serve to maximise the use of the Department’s scarce manpower and resources in a more equitable manner.
17. A Cluster Management Team has been appointed in January 2002 to pilot the concept of merging 3 institutions into one cluster. The Cluster Management team’s mission statement reads, “To operationalise and optimise cluster management through innovative process re-engineering and integration so as to ensure a smooth transition to CPC Cluster Management in 2004”.
Corporate Image and Recruitment Campaign
18. As part of the Department’s strategy to reach out to the public to change their perception of ex-offenders, a Corporate Image and Recruitment campaign was launched on 31 October 2001. This campaign was also aimed at raising the public’s awareness towards the role of the Prisons Department in Singapore. It encompasses our vision “Captains of Lives” and the tagline “Rehab, Renew, Restart”. A strategic combination of television, press and bus advertisements was used to target potential volunteers, job applicants, community organisations, and employers.
19. From a post-campaign survey conducted, overall public opinion of the Department increased considerably. There have also been significant improvements in the public’s perception towards the Department. In addition, more prison officers are now proud to be associated with the Department, and feel that the role of a prison officer is a worthwhile and positive endeavour.
Employing Ex-Offenders
20. Securing proper jobs upon release is another important success factor in ex-offenders’ re-integration. However, as much as the Department tries to provide the relevant vocational training and skills upgrading while our inmates are with us, the lack of acceptance towards ex-inmates by potential employers after their release will render our efforts ineffective. In August 2000, the Public Service Division effected a change in the policy of employing ex-prisoners. Individual government agencies now have the autonomy to hire persons with criminal records if they are found to be suitable. The Department welcomes this move and has taken the lead by employing two inmates undergoing Home Detention to work as clerks in Singapore Prison Headquarters. The Prison School has also employed an ex-inmate as a part-time teacher.
CONCLUSION
21. As “Captains of Lives”, the Singapore Prisons Department will continue to consolidate our efforts to ensure the safe custody and rehabilitation of offenders in collaboration with our key partners in the area of crime prevention and aftercare. Together, we can propel the Department towards organisational excellence.
SINGAPORE PRISONS DEPARTMENT
SEPTEMBER 2002