Under the Registration of Criminals Act, the police maintain a non-public record of people convicted of major offences, including crimes of a sexual nature, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said in a Written Parliamentary Reply on Apr. 5.

This record is part of the effort to strike a balance between ensuring that people who have committed serious crimes are not placed in positions that place children at risk, and also not compounding the stigmatisation of ex-offenders, which might potentially hinder their reintegration and rehabilitation.

Shanmugam was responding to a question posed by Member of Parliament Murali Pillai.

He asked whether assistance can be provided to parents of minors who wish to conduct background checks, so as to determine if a tutor or instructor has been previously convicted of sexual offences.

MOE and MSF work closely with the police using the non-public record

Shanmugam further pointed out that organisations such as the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) work closely with the police, using the non-public record which is not accessible to parents.

This includes screening prospective employees who apply for jobs involving children, in places such as licensed childcare centres, kindergartens and schools.

In addition, MHA is considering whether further steps must be taken, such as imposing a mandatory screening requirement for everyone employed in childcare and other similar sectors.

However, the Ministry is also "thinking through practical difficulties" that comes with such an approach.

Allowing information on sexual offences to be accessed by the public could have unintended consequences

Shanmugam added that he could see the "reasonableness" in Murali's request of allowing parents to screen potential tutors for any past offences.

However, such a measure could have consequences stemming from such information easily being made public.

He referenced the example of a public sex offender registry in the U.S., the only one in the world of which the Ministry is aware.

Shanmugam noted that a study had shown offenders on the list were more likely to reoffend, as a result of being excluded from their neighbourhood, anxiety and job loss.

The study also highlighted that registered sex offenders and their families had experienced stigmatisation, harassment and abuse.

As such, according to Shanmugam, "We will need to consider the consequences and see if we should provide for further pathways for checking a person’s criminal antecedents, beyond the current approach."

Top photo by Ekaterina Bolovtsova from Pexels.