Children beyond parental control are those below 16 years of age who display behavioural problems in school or at home. They are not offenders, but their misbehaviour may be serious enough to lead their parents to apply to the Court for assistance in managing them. On the one hand, laying a complaint in the Court is often a last resort for parents and caregivers as this may severely strain the parent-child relationship. On the other hand, it empowers parents and the community to provide effective supervision and support to the child.

When a parent lays a complaint at the Juvenile Court that their child is beyond their control under Section 50 of the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA), the Court will direct MCYS to prepare a social report. The Court can make an order for the child to be remanded in the Juvenile Homes for up to five weeks. MCYS will assess the case and make recommendations to the Court on treatment options. The Court may decide to give the child a caution or refer him to a social service agency for counseling. The Court can also make an order, with the parents' consent, to place the child under statutory supervision or admit him into a Home gazetted under the CYPA for a period of two to three years.

For more information, please contact the MCYS Child Welfare Service at 6354 8260 or visit: http://app.mcys.gov.sg/web/indv_child.asp

Introduced in 1994, a Family Conference (FC) is convened for selected offenders at the order of the Magistrate of the Juvenile Court for purposes specified by the Magistrate. An extension of the Juvenile Court processes, the FC focuses on both deterrence of crime and restoration – through reprimand, formal caution, compensation and apologies to victims, and social undertakings. An FC may also be ordered in cases where a parent lodges a Beyond Parental Control (BPC) complaint against the child and a conference is necessary to address issues which the family needs to ventilate in considering the care plan for the child. An FC may facilitate the commencement of counselling, psychotherapy or other programmes deemed appropriate for the rehabilitation or re-integration of the juvenile concerned.

Introduced in October 1997, the Guidance Programme is a six-month counselling and rehabilitation programme for young offenders who have committed minor offences. This programme is unique because it gives young people a chance to make amends for their offences without bringing them to court. It also equips them with social and life skills to stay away from crime in the future. Those who complete it successfully may be let off with a police warning. In 2005 alone, more than 800 youths have benefited from the programme.

The Guidance Programme is funded and co-ordinated by MCYS. Partner agencies include the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), SPF and social service agencies appointed by MCYS to conduct the programme. The programme includes counselling and group work, community service projects, outdoor activities and educational trips to prisons and drug rehabilitation centres. The Guidance Programme also recognises the importance of parental participation and family support in successful rehabilitation. Parents are encouraged to take part in activities such as family counselling, parenting talks and parents’ support groups.

Probation (MCYS)
Probation is a community-based programme administered by MCYS for offenders. Probationers are supervised by MCYS probation officers for a period of between six months to three years. During this time, through regular reporting and rehabilitation programmes, the probationer learns positive behaviour and life skills to prepare him/her to lead an independent and socially responsible life. There are also therapeutic programmes that target specific offending behaviour, such as theft and violence. The probation officers work closely with the family and community partners such as schools and employers, so that there is a network of support to ensure the success of rehabilitation.

For the list of agencies running GP, please click here .

This programme aims to provide an opportunity for the restoration of broken relationships as a result of crime. Through family conferences conducted in the court, it allows the victims a voice in the process and the offenders a chance to make amends. Victim-offender dialogues and discussions on restitution and compensation are also made possible. From 2005 to 2006, 16 offenders and 13 victims attended the family conferences.

Juvenile Court works together with MCYS to provide additional support to the victims who participate in this programme. Officers from the Victim Assistance Team (VAST) from MCYS will be the contact persons for the victims before and after the family conference – by preparing them for the conference, keeping them informed of the outcomes of the case and referring them to community agencies for further help if needed.

Probation is a community-based programme administered by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) for offenders. It provides the Court with an alternative sentencing option in dealing with offenders who may otherwise be sent to rehabilitative (e.g. MCYS homes) or penal institutions (e.g. Reformative Training Centre).

Under probation, offenders is placed under the supervision and personal care of a probation officer and have to adhere to curfew hours, which minimises the possibility of them mixing with wrong company or committing further offences. Probation also involves the parents of the offenders: there are programmes such as Creative Parenting Workshops, Family Day activities and Parent Support Groups which help the parents play a role in rehabilitating their children.

The Court can impose additional conditions of probation that include the following:

Community Service Order

The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports supervises Community Service Orders (CSO) as part of Probation. CSO is an order of Court compelling the offender to perform unpaid work for a specific number of hours. This was implemented in 1996, as a term of probation order. Through such an order, the offender is given an opportunity to make amends for the offending behaviour by performing services for the community or its less fortunate members over and above depriving the offender of leisure time. The CSO also aims to develop a sense of empathy and respect in the offender towards people and property as well as broaden his perspective of the world around him.

Detention Order

Under a Detention Order, an offender below 16 years of age can be required to reside in a place of detention Probation Order for a period, not exceeding three months, and undergo a series of exercise drills and groupwork to equip him with relevant skills while in detention. The Juvenile Court could impose that the juvenile undergo a Detention Order before a Probation Order. In these cases, the youth offender will serve the Detention Order before serving the . If a youth offender is placed on probation initially but later shows poor progress, the Court can add on a Detention Order. In this case, he will be sent to a Detention Centre and upon discharge from the Centre, continue with the remaining duration of his probation.

Weekend Detention Order

Weekend Detention is one of the options available to the Juvenile Court when dealing with an offender below 16 years of age. Under the Weekend Detention Order, the juvenile offender will be required to report to a place of detention during the weekends, for a period not exceeding 52 weekends. The juveniles will be required to report to the place of detention by 3pm on Saturday and be discharged by 5pm the next day (Sunday), and undergo a series of exercise drills, supervised study and groupwork to equip them with relevant skills. The Court may impose the Weekend Detention Order as the only order, or may impose the Weekend Detention Order together with a Probation Order.

Periodic Training Order

The Court can impose a Periodic Training Order as a condition of Probation. It is targeted at probationers who are not in school and are unemployed. Under the Periodic Training Order, a probationer is required to report to a social service agency for a fixed number of hours to receive training in social skills and guidance in educational/vocational development or work preparation.

For more information on Probation Service and other community-based options, you may call the MCYS Probation Service Branch at 6354 8337.

The visit offers the youths an opportunity to see for themselves the tough regime that prisoners have to undergo and the spartan conditions in prisons. A personal glimpse into the harsh life behind bars also serves as a strong message to the youths, warning them of the freedom that they will lose if they persist in getting into trouble with the law.

The visit programme, lasting one and a half hours, aims to give the youths an insight into the tough regime of prisoners in prison. This will hopefully encourage and deter them from getting into trouble with the law and ending up as an additional prisons statistic. Youths are reminded that having a prison record would constitute stigma for life.

The CYPA, or Children and Young Persons Act, is the key legislation guiding the rehabilitation of young offenders in Singapore. It was amended in 2001 to expand the range of rehabilitation options that the Juvenile Court could impose. The new order options include the Community Service Order, Probation with Detention Order, and Weekend Detention Order. More order options meant that rehabilitation programmes could be tailored to address the risks and needs of individual offenders, increase the chances of successful rehabilitation and reduce the risks of re-offending.

• Community Service Order: Community service was piloted in 1996 as a requirement of probation, and was found to be an effective way for offenders to develop empathy and make amends for the offences. The amendments to CYPA in 2001 provided the court with the option of imposing community service as a stand-alone order.

• Probation with Detention Order: This order option provides for young offenders to undergo a ‘short, sharp, shock’ treatment of detention in the juvenile homes for up to three months prior to placement on probation. It helps young offenders with conduct problems to adjust to the requirements of rehabilitation, so that they would be better prepared to fulfil the conditions of probation.

• Weekend Detention Order: Under this order, young offenders may be detained in the juvenile homes for up to 52 weekends, starting from 3pm on Saturday to 5pm on Sunday. The objective is to instil in them self-discipline and life skills through a structured programme. Weekend detention may be combined with other orders such as probation or community service.