Pre-sentencing therapy aids offenders with underlying issues

Programme of psychological support helps prevent first-time offenders from reoffending

- Shermaine Ang

Being bullied throughout secondary school left Nick (not his real name) struggling with depression and anxiety. When he was unable to find a job in his 20s, he began to isolate himself at home.

He turned to pornography as an escape for his "absolute despair", and subsequently discovered voyeuristic content, which led him to film an upskirt video. This soon escalated to a spree, with him filming such videos every two or three days "on autopilot".

After he was arrested in 2024, he felt helpless and came close to reoffending. The 32-year-old was referred by his lawyer to a programme designed to provide psychological support for first-time offenders.

The Pathways to Accountability, Change and Transformation (Pact) programme was launched by social enterprise Centre for Psychotherapy (C4P) in January 2024 to fill a critical gap in the justice system — pre-sentencing intervention — said C4P senior counsellor and Pact founder Gopal Mahey.

This is defined as the period between when a person is charged and when he is sentenced, which can take anywhere from four weeks to one year.

"While legal representation is often prioritised, we saw a need for structured support to address the deeper psychological and behavioural factors that contribute to offending," Mr Gopal said.

For instance, sexual offences among young people can stem from an early exposure to pornography, absence of guidance, emotional isolation and adverse childhood experiences, with offenders internalising distorted ideas from online content.

The idea behind the programme is upstream rehabilitation and early intervention to hopefully disrupt cycles of harm, reduce reoffending, and build long-term reintegration potential.