Life Skills Training for Prison Inmates

11 Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there are existing programmes which allow volunteer welfare organisations to provide life skills training to prison inmates during their period of incarceration; and (b) if so, how many have benefited from such training in the last five years.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Amrin Amin) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): The Singapore Prison Service works with a number of community partners and voluntary welfare organisations to run programmes for inmates that incorporate life skills, such as communication, stress management, conflict resolution and financial management. These programmes include family programmes, drug abuse intervention programmes and religious counselling.

One example is the structured family programmes run by Fei Yue Community Services and Lakeside Family Services. The programmes aim to increase inmates' knowledge, skills and confidence in maintaining ties and building stronger relationships with their family members. Another example is the drug abuse intervention programme run by Touch Community Services, which motivates inmates with drug antecedents to change. Inmates also learn behavioural skills to help in relapse prevention.

More than 35,000 training places were offered to inmates in the last five years.