Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders (“CARE”) Network Summit 2026 - Speech by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs

Mr Eric Chua, my Parliamentary colleague,

Mr Matthew Wee, Commissioner of Prisons,

Mr Sunny Lee, Chief Executive of YRSG, 

CARE Network Partners, 

Many distinguished guests present this morning,

Introduction

1. Good morning to all of you. So pleased to join you here at the CARE Network Summit, as we celebrate not just what we have achieved, but also come together to rededicate and commit to the renewed purpose for the way forward.
   

2. This year, we continue to build on last year’s theme, ‘GROWing Together, Empowering Change’. The theme reflects our shared commitment to the GROW Framework launched by the CARE Network last year. The Framework is anchored on four pillars: GROW –Galvanising the aftercare sector; Reducing duplication of services; Optimising resources; Widening the network of stakeholders, much like what I see here this morning.

Evolution of the CARE Network

3. The CARE Network was formed in the year 2000, in recognition that rehabilitation and reintegration require the support of the whole community – it is not just one aspect, not one sector, but all coming together and many helping hands. What began with seven core members has grown into a strong network of eight core members and more than 170 community partners.
   

4. Our newest core member, Yellow Ribbon Cares, was formed on 1 April 2026 through the merger of the Industrial and Services Co-operative Society Limited (ISCOS), NeuGen Fund and the Yellow Ribbon Fund. This consolidation enables us to streamline operations and also strengthen support, end-to-end, for ex-offenders and their families.

Celebration of Milestone Anniversaries of CN Members

5. This is also a significant year for three core members of the CARE Network, each of whom is marking a milestone anniversary.
   

6. First, Yellow Ribbon Singapore, or YRSG, celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year. Founded 50 years ago as the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises, or SCORE, YRSG began with a simple but at the same time powerful conviction that every person deserves a second chance. It has since grown into the backbone of Singapore’s reintegration movement. Today, YRSG partners close to 6,500 employers to advocate inclusive hiring and upskilling for ex-offenders, so that we really live by what the motto says – to leave no one behind and to give everyone that second chance that they deserve. In 2025, 96% of inmates referred to YRSG secured employment before release, 96% - and I think that is testament to the efforts that many of our partners, volunteers, the supporters have shown in these efforts. This really matters a lot because sustained gainful employment is a key factor in helping ex-offenders desist from crime and stay away from drugs.
   

7. Second, the Singapore After-Care Association, or SACA, celebrates its 70^th anniversary this year. For 70 years, SACA has walked alongside ex-offenders and their families by providing case management, counselling and education support. Through its Volunteer After-Care Programme and collaborations with Family Service Centres, SACA helps its clients navigate life after release.

8. Third, we celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the Singapore Prison Service, or SPS. Over the years, SPS has transformed from a custodial institution into a correctional agency that is well regarded internationally and I think the results speak for themselves.  When the CARE Network was established in 2000, Singapore’s two-year recidivism rate stood at 40.1%. Today, it stands at 21.9% for the 2023 release cohort — this is one of the lowest in the world, and this is testament not just to SPS but the ecosystem around SPS, the efforts of each of us, each of you, volunteers, those of you who work in front, and also those of you who work behind the scenes. Everyone matters in this, and every effort has gone towards really improving these rates and making our rates in Singapore one of the lowest in the world.  

9. Taken together, these milestones represent a combined 200 years of service in uplifting ex-offenders and importantly, supporting their reintegration. The achievements of YRSG, SACA and SPS, however, did not happen overnight. They reflect what this entire community has built painstakingly, bit by bit, and coming together. Let me now pause for a moment to thank every partner, every volunteer, every donor and every staff member for the tremendous effort that has brought the CARE Network to where it is today. They all deserve a big round of applause. I'm sure that on this journey, every one of you have your own stories. I heard a few just this morning. Your own stories, your own experience. You bring together each of these stories, each of these experiences, and collectively, we make ourselves stronger than the sum of our past because of each of you. So really, thank you very much for all of you.
   

National Committee on Preventing Offending and Reoffending (NCPR) Recommendations

10. But even as we mark these achievements, we must continue to aspire to strive for more, go further, bring the rates down lower, and support integration even better. We must do more to guide our children and youth towards positive choices and crime-free lives; help ex-offenders reintegrate better into society and stay reintegrated. We must also support families affected by incarceration.
    

11.  I would like to take a few minutes to share some of our efforts in these areas that have been made through the National Committee on Preventing Offending and Re-offending (NCPR). The NCPR is an interagency platform co-led by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It brings together government agencies as well as community partners to better address the needs of at-risk individuals, offenders, and their families.

Preventing Youth Offending 

12. One key area of focus for the NCPR is preventing youth offending.
    

13. Our youths are the future of our nation and we must do our best to help them realise their full potential as well as stay crime-free. The recent uptick in youth offending underscores the need for sustained and dedicated attention.
    

14. Today, volunteers and social service workers play an important role as trusted adults who guide at-risk youths towards better choices – experience having walked down a path before, turning back, mentoring, guiding youths. All of these are really very important pillars of success for us Youth COP, or Community Outreach Patrol, builds on this strong foundation by adding another positive source of influence — and that is youths themselves. Sometimes having peer support, having someone closer in age and experience as you are helps tremendously. The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), the Ministry of Education and the National Council of Social Service are working with SHINE to nurture more youths as Crime Prevention Ambassadors, who can encourage their own peers to avoid crime as well as take their path towards positive choices. The programme currently operates in eight schools and will be expanded to more schools in the coming years.
    

15. MSF will also enhance the Youth GO! Programme for youths who may benefit from additional support. The enhancements will equip them with life skills to overcome challenges, help them stay focused on their studies, and build resilience – help them bounce back because there will be adversity for our youth. They will come across moments when temptation might be strong, crossroads, junctions at which they make key choices, and having a peer support mentor makes a world of difference.  This will be done in two ways. First, data-driven tools will be used to better assess risks and needs, so that support can be more tailored. We use data because the experiences of two youths are never exactly identical. There's similarities, but we can use data to help us tailor the support even better.  Second, families will be engaged more actively, to nurture stable and supportive home environments that help youths succeed. These enhancements will be rolled out later this year.
    

16. Beyond individual support, we must also address the negative social environments that put youths at risk. One area that warrants closer attention is youth involvement in gangs. While the youth gang situation remains under control, early intervention remains a very important step, as gang affiliation is linked to increased criminal activity. International studies have shown that youths may be more vulnerable and susceptible to gang influence because they are at a critical stage of identity formation earlier on in their lives, and also emotional development, and are therefore more susceptible to social pressure.
    

17. The Singapore Police Force will train teachers and social workers to recognise early signs of gang association as well as help us to enable closer and earlier upstream intervention. A Gang Renunciation Programme will also be introduced in the Singapore Boys' Home to help youths who wish to leave their gangs make a clean break and rebuild their lives. Youths with former gang associations will also receive mentoring support from desistors, recognising that some of the most compelling guidance can come from someone who has walked the same path and chosen a brighter future.

Strengthening Support for Elderly Offenders and Ex-offenders

18. Let me next turn to another group that requires our attention — elderly offenders as well as ex-offenders. This is a group that we may not often think about when it comes to crime and rehabilitation, but in 2025, inmates above 60 years old made up approximately 17% of the prison population. Elderly ex-offenders often face their own set of challenges and make it harder for them to be integrated into society. While age should never be a barrier to second chance or reintegration, the elderly inmates, the ex-offenders, often have weaker family and social support. They are themselves also in poorer health, and finding it difficult in their 60s to find suitable jobs. 
    

19. SPS will work closely with the community to strengthen pro-social support networks for elderly ex-offenders. This includes encouraging participation in meaningful active ageing activities, motivating them to remain offence-free, and enhancing employment support. SPS will also build the capabilities of staff, partners and volunteers who work with elderly offenders and ex-offenders, so as to strengthen continuity of care from prison to the community.

Strengthening Support for Families Impacted by Incarceration

20. Finally, we must recognise that offending and incarceration do not affect only the individual, and that is something really close to my heart. There's a far-reaching impact on the rest of society, on families, on loved ones, on friends, on people that they socialise with in the community.  The risk of intergenerational offending is well documented. A study by MSF and NCSS found that children whose parents were incarcerated were 3.90 times as likely to offend compared to children with non-offending parents. Another SPS study found that approximately one in five children of drug abusers went on to offend themselves. So the link is quite clear, and we need to do what we can to break that link, that intergenerational link.
    

21. To ensure that no family has to navigate this journey alone, SPS and MSF will strengthen inter-agency case coordination, so that timely and holistic assistance can be provided to families when an inmate is incarcerated. The earlier we do this, the more upstream we go, the more likely it is that we will have success. SPS will also work closely with government and community agencies to provide comprehensive, family-focused support, helping offenders strengthen family ties and reintegrate with their families upon release.
    

22. Through these NCPR initiatives, we hope to walk alongside individuals and families at every stage of life, creating a strong ripple effect that extends far beyond any single programme or any single recommendation.

Human Interest Story — Farhan

23. As I conclude, I would like to take a moment to share a story, and this is Farhan's story. I met Farhan earlier this morning, and I told him that the courage and the conviction that he has in sharing this story is itself very powerful, and I thought I'll just share his story with you. Farhan is today an inspiring desistor. In his younger years, he drifted through jobs in the nightlife industry. Then he started to abuse drugs, partly the environment and partly, I suppose, the social circumstances. During his incarceration, his mother and his wife stood by him, giving him the strength to keep going. The passing of his stepfather became a turning point, as Farhan realised just how much he had lost.
    

24. Rebuilding his life was not easy. Farhan faced setbacks, including difficulty securing employment because of his prison record.
    

25. After his last release from prison in 2020, and with support from ISCOS, Farhan obtained his Class 3 and Class 4 driving licences and secured stable employment, earning more than $3,000 a month. His children also benefited from NeuGen’s Milk and Diaper Programme.
    

26. Today, Farhan gives back as a YR Cares Titan, sharing his experience, doing what I said earlier, being a mentor, giving words of encouragement. Someone who has walked that that path before and chosen a better path is a very powerful story, and he shares this story so that others may believe genuinely that a better path is possible. His. His journey reflects the power of family, community and having that strong sustained support that gives him that framework, that scaffolding, that is so powerful in moving forward, in reintegrating, rehabilitating, and building his life again. And these are all the very things that the CARE Network exists to provide.
    

27. Farhan is here with us today. Farhan told me earlier this morning that his youngest is a few months old, three or four months old, and he recently spent his National Day weekend camping at East Coast with the whole family. I think these are small but really, really powerful messages, and I hope that we will have more like Farhan coming forward to share these messages because I think that they are also inspiring and they really show the path, not just by words, but by solid experience, and I think this makes a big difference. 
    

Call to Action

28. So, as I conclude, let me just say that preventing offending and re-offending requires the efforts of many agencies, many partners volunteers, supporters, and as I said earlier, those at the front, and also those behind the scenes.
    

29. I am very heartened to see everyone here today, coming together in such a turnout, united by a common purpose to build a society where every individual has the support to make positive choices, to turn themselves around, and to find that path that makes a difference – not just to them but to their families and to the communities that they belong to, to rebuild their lives and to then take a step to contribute meaningfully to community.
    

30. I hope that after today's programme, you will connect with one another. There is much to learn from one another, and no one has all the good ideas. Coming together makes us stronger than the sum of our parts. I hope that we can also continue to grow as a community that is guided and anchored by the ethos that we leave no one behind, and that everyone deserves a second chance. 
    

31. We can do this better when we combine all our helping hands. We always hear about having many helping hands. But in many ways, I believe that having many helping hands alone is good, but not good enough. We need the helping hands to intersect, to come together, and then we can build a much stronger network of support that no one will fall through. It is through occasions like this, where you come together, interact, build networks, get to know each other, understand best practices, and socialise as well to build contacts across the different sectors of this community, that we can strengthen that many helping hands intersecting with one another.
    

32. So on this note, I wish you a very fruitful Summit. I hope that you will take time as well to build relations, to get to know one another, and to understand that this ecosystem is a strong, vibrant one because of each of you.  I thank each of you for your very hard work, dedication, and complete passion in what you do. This really makes a difference for Singapore and the society we live in, and that we want to leave behind for future generations. Thank you.