The number of Malay drug abusers in Singapore has almost halved over the past 16 years, having fallen to 1,700 this year as compared to 3,200 in 1993.

Decrease in minority re-offenders

This statistic was shared by Amrin Amin, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministries of Home Affairs and Health at an international conference in Argentina on October 28.

Amrin highlighted that the two-year relapse rate (meaning the number of people who re-offend and are re-arrested within two years of their release from jail) of Malay drug abusers fell to 27.8 per cent in the 2016 release cohort, from 41.6 per cent for the 2011 release cohort.

He said the two-year recidivism (re-offending) rate of criminal offenders of Malay ethnicity has also fallen to 28.9 per cent for the 2016 release cohort, from 34.7 per cent for the 2011 release cohort.

He also mentioned that the number of Indian drug abusers has significantly declined during that period as well.

Why minority offenders in particular?

The event Amrin spoke at, the 21st International Corrections and Prisons Association Conference, is one of the largest events in the prison and correctional industry.

It's attended by around 450 professionals and experts from over 70 countries, who come from government and state correction agencies, academic groups and social work institutions.

Topics addressed in the conference this year include community-led correctional processes such as post-release services, along with strategies to reduce re-offenders and the population of offenders.

And this is where minorities come in — Amrin noted a strong international interest in minority communities, who are over-represented among criminal offenders in countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

He spoke about Singapore's success in reducing the number of minority offenders, attributing Singapore's success with reducing our numbers to a "determined, resourceful community backed by a supportive government".

Grants and assistance schemes in housing, healthcare & education

Amrin said that government schemes and grants introduced over the years help to ensure that housing, healthcare and education remain affordable, reducing the likelihood of offending and inter-generational offending.

Initiatives include the government-initiated M³, a joint office supported by three key Malay-Muslim organisations, including the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), self-help group Mendaki and the People's Association Malay Activity Executive Committees Council (Mesra).

The joint office set up the Family and Inmate Through-care Assistance Haven, or FITRAH, in 2018 to provide structured support to Malay-Muslim offenders during and after incarceration.

This includes religious counselling in prison which is conducted by religious teachers, and regular engagement with families of offenders conducted by befrienders.

An anti-drug campaign, "Dadah itu Haram"(Drugs are Forbidden) was also launched in 2017, bringing the anti-drug message to more than 100,000 members of the community through various places such as barbershops, eateries, mosques and vehicle workshops.

A through-care programme, known as the Development and Reintegration Programme was launched in 2018, carrying out personal development programmes for the inmates, family support programmes and case management services while inmates are still in prison.

These programmes continue after the inmates are released.

So far, 200 offenders and their families, with more than 700 beneficiaries in total, have benefited from the programme.

Amrin said the results have been encouraging, and that the government will continue to work closely with community partners to provide targeted programmes for the Malay Muslim community to further reduce offending and re-offending.

Top image via Amrin Amin's Facebook post