Singapore Prisons Department

The Singapore Prisons Department currently has four reception centres. The Queenstown Remand Prison (QRP) is a maximum security prison for holding remandees. Sembawang Prison cum Drug Rehabilitation Centre (SD) houses inmates who have been detained for treatment and rehabilitation as well as convicted inmates on long term imprisonment for repeated drug abuse. Changi Women’s Prison cum Drug Rehabilitation Centre (CWP) is a prison for female penal and drug inmates. The Reformative Training Centre (RTC) houses inmates under 21 years of age on the day of conviction and who have been deemed by the court as suitable for reformative training.

2. Classification in the Singapore Prisons Department is defined as the regular process of assessing an inmate to determine the type and level of resources that he requires. For the past two years, this process has served to improve the allocation of limited resources to the inmates through the systematic identification of their rehabilitative and custodial needs.

THE REHABILITATION FRAMEWORK

3. The Department reviewed its approach to the rehabilitation of inmates in early 1999. Initially, the classification for rehabilitation was drawn up with the implementation of a new rehabilitation framework. Subsequently, a complementary security classification system was drawn up in mid 2000. With security and rehabilitation as the core functions, the information derived from a two-pronged classification system was essential for our Department to keep its inmates in safe custody and to rehabilitate them.

Classification Unit

4. Classification of inmates commenced on 30 October 2000 with the establishment of the Classification Unit. Classification Officers are counsellors assigned to perform the specific task of classification.

5. The result of the comprehensive review of the classification system led to the conceptualisation of our current rehabilitation framework, whereby the entire inmate population was divided into four classes:

6. To identify inmates for the various classes, the Singapore Prisons Department selected a well-known classification tool, known as the LSI-R[2] (see Annex A), to use in the classification process. It is a way of systematically bringing together risks and needs information important to offender treatment and planning, assigning their levels of freedom and their supervision. High scores denote a higher risk of relapse and low scores indicate a lower risk of relapse. The officer interviewing the inmate can also note down anything that may override the LSI-R classification.

7. To make the LSI-R tool more culturally specific, as well as to map the risks and needs of the population, the Department undertook two studies involving a total of 1300 inmates, from both Penal and Drug Rehabilitation Centres (DRC), to establish a proper norming standard for the Singapore prison population. The Penal norming study was carried out in May 1999 and the DRC norming study was conducted in May 2000.

8. Since Nov 2000, the Department has classified a total of 7771 inmates excluding class D inmates.

9. In a resource-scarce penal system, the practical policy approach is to target offenders with the best chances of benefiting from rehabilitation. The Singapore Prisons Department therefore focuses its efforts on Class B inmates as they are deemed most likely to benefit from appropriate treatment and rehabilitation. Class B offenders are those whose background indicate that they have a propensity to re-offend if no changes are made either to their moral reasoning or their environment, physical or social circumstances.

10. Although the focus is on Class B inmates, Class A, C and D inmates are not neglected. The current regime and programme will still continue for them. All inmates, regardless of their class, will be required to pass through the following phases during their incarceration – the Deterrence, Treatment, and Pre-release Phases. The Deterrence Phase consists of lock-up, drill and limited (but progressive) privileges. The Pre-release Phase consists of a standard programme that prepares the offender for life outside prison. Only in the Treatment Phase will the programmes for the different classes vary. Classes A, C and D inmates will receive employment, counselling and recreation. In addition to these, Class B inmates will be required to undergo education or vocational training as well as cognitive-behavioural programmes to address their specific needs. The latter aims to address some of the prisoners’ criminogenic needs and include programmes for Substance Abusers, Violent and Sex offenders.

11. Security classification forms the foundation upon which our inmate management system is based. It assesses and determines the supervision levels, allocation of housing, and even suitability for community-based programmes (e.g., the Tail-End Home Detention) for inmates.

12. Two important aspects of an inmate are assessed – the security risk he poses to the institution and his special needs. The security risk component comprises three factors – the tendency to escape; the tendency for violence; and participation in gangs or secret societies. These are factors that may affect the secure custody of the inmate and threaten the safety of staff and other inmates. Based on these factors, the inmates are graded on a four-point scale that indicates their level of security risk to the institution.

13. The special needs component, on the other hand, assesses whether the inmate has any unusual conditions that the staff need to be aware of. These include suicidal tendencies, age-related problems, sexual orientation, medical or psychiatric conditions, the inmates’ profile level and any individual protection needed. These conditions, although not likely to pose any serious security threat to the institution, will nonetheless need to be properly handled.

14. Sentence planning is the process of organising and matching the intervening activities and treatment of inmates during the entire incarceration and rehabilitation process. An individualised planning tool for inmates is developed to address the piecemeal planning and arrangement of activities.

15. The Personal Route Map (PRM) is a co-ordinated and structured planning tool that covers the treatment of the inmate from his entry into the prison system, throughout the various phases of incarceration and will accompany him into the aftercare phase. It is a tool that enables the arrangement of activities in a more meaningful way when managing the inmates in all aspects i.e., discipline and control, operations and security, intelligence as well as rehabilitation. The objectives of the PRM are as follow:

a. Plan for the activities that will be most appropriate for the inmates in terms of security threat, special management needs and rehabilitative factors.

c. Contract the inmate into an agreement so that the inmate takes greater ownership of his/her rehabilitation.

d. Monitor the progress of the inmate in the area of discipline and rehabilitation.

16. The Rehabilitation Classification Officer (RCO) will conduct a once-off initial charting immediately after the rehabilitation classification. This will ensure that the information gathered from the classification interview is effectively translated into the inmate’s PRM. The Personal Supervisor (PS) will be required to conduct the first interview with the newly admitted inmate within the first two weeks of his/her admission to follow up on the initial PRM charted by the RCO.

17. Constant appraisal will be done by the PS and brought up for regular review at the Housing Unit Meeting. This will allow for inputs from everyone who works with the inmate, such as the counsellor, psychologist, teacher, workshop supervisor and other PSs. Re-charting of the inmate’s PRM will be done at the end of each phase i.e. deterrence, treatment and pre-release; during the inmate’s classification review; and when there are changes in the inmate’s needs and treatment goals. The PRM will serve as a customised treatment and management plan which will chart the expected regime and treatment of the offender from his admission to his reintegration back to society.

18. Classification is carried out upon admission to provide an initial understanding of the inmates under our charge. This early assessment is important as we need to manage the inmate properly from the moment he becomes our responsibility. However, given that both the inmates’ behaviour and the circumstances surrounding them are dynamic, the Department has implemented a system of reviews for each inmate’s classification. This serves to help us fine-tune the classification of the inmates and the allocation of our limited resources for them.

19. As in the initial classification process, the classification review system involves security and rehabilitation classification. The review system allows for the downgrading of security risk once an inmate has settled down and shown consistent trouble-free behaviour. The system also provides updated security information on the suitability of inmates for community-based programmes such as Tail-End Home Detention and the Work Release Scheme.

CONCLUSION

20. This paper provides an overview of the Classification System and related studies undertaken by the Singapore Prisons Department in the last two years. The actual test of whether the Department’s Classification System is accurate will be in the next few years, when the offenders currently classified and released, start coming in. To date, the Department has commenced on a study to evaluate our Rehabilitation Classification System. This study will test the predictive capability of the LSI-R tool by comparing the LSI-R scores of inmates and their recidivism rates. The study is expected to take at least three years for the collection of recidivism data and analysis.

Annex A

Use of Level of Service Inventory-Revised as a Classification (LSI-R) Tool

A robust and predictive instrument is needed to accurately classify offenders. Empirically, the best predictors of criminal conduct include risk factors like criminal history, antisocial attitudes and personality, antisocial associates, difficulties at home, school, work or leisure, and personal distress. Risk of criminal behaviour generally increases with the number and variety of risk factors present.

2. From a review of correctional literature and a study trip, led by Director of Prisons, to UK and Canada in early 1999, it was felt that the Level of Service Inventory – Revised (LSI-R), developed in Canada, would be an appropriate instrument to evaluate for use in our prison context. This is because the LSI-R quantitatively samples many of the major and minor risk factors in order to provide a comprehensive and systematic risk and needs assessment. Moreover, the LSI-R has been used successfully in over 200 criminal justice agencies in Canada and the US.

3. The LSI-R is a survey that is administered to an offender through a one-to-one interview, lasting about 45 minutes. The survey comprises 54 items. Each item is answered with a “yes” or “no”, or a “0 to 3” rating. Answers for the 54 items are translated into a total score. Higher scored reflect a higher risk for re-offending and more treatment needs. Low scores indicate vice versa. The items are grouped under the following 10 components:

4. Many of the components consist of items that are changeable or “dynamic”. These dynamic components are actually risk factors themselves. By attempting to reduce the number of these dynamic risk factors through rehabilitation, we could possibly reduce the chance of re-offending. Therefore in this way, many of the LSI-R items or components act as treatment targets.

5. The LSI-R will not be the only instrument used for assessing an inmate. The sound judgement of experienced officers and the tapping of various information sources (e.g. the inmate’s family members and enforcement agencies) will also be very valuable in getting a holistic picture of the inmate.

6. The LSI-R has been applied successfully to the Canadian offender population, indicating both the reliability and validity of the instrument. It has also predicted at above chance levels, outcomes like treatment success, institutional misconduct, recidivism rates and officer judgements of the above aspects.

[1] There are local inmates who would not be suitable for rehabilitation programmes, such as remandees, inmates detained under The President’s Pleasure, condemned prisoners and prisoners with less than 1 year sentence length.

[2] Based on literature reviews, the LSI-R (Level of Service Inventory – Revised) developed in Canada, has been evaluated to be one of the most predictive and comprehensive classification instruments available. It has been used extensively in over 200 criminal justice agencies in the world.

Class A:	Those offenders who are likely not to re-offend regardless of whether rehabilitation or treatment is given.
Class B:	Those offenders who are likely not to re-offend if appropriate treatment or rehabilitation is given.
Class C:	Those offenders who are likely to re-offend regardless of whether or not rehabilitation or treatment is given.
Class D:	Foreign offenders whose rehabilitation is not a concern and other local inmates[1] who will not be suitable for the rehabilitation programmes.