Singapore Prison Service to re-evaluate sentencing regime

Study on costs and benefits of inprisonment comes amid rise in community-based corrections

- Ng Wei Kai

A study will be launched to better understand the effectiveness of imprisonment and alternatives such as community sentences, with the data intended for use in regular reviews of prison policies and processes.

The costs and benefits of imprisonment will be re-evaluated in the light of new data and increasing use of community-based corrections, which have contributed in recent years to a lower rate of inmates reoffending.

The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) said in response to queries that the landscape surrounding corrections in the country has changed substantially since the last study was conducted in 2006.

SPS called for a tender on Feb 2 seeking a contractor to study the costs and benefits associated with the time offenders spend in custody and the period they spend in the community.

The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of various sentencing regimes such as short detention orders and long-term imprisonment on various kinds of inmates.

The information will be used to compute an economic measure of the regimes, said a tender document seen by The Sunday Times.