Participation rates of employment preparation scheme and recidivism outcomes

Question:

Mr David Hoe: To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) as of January 2026, how many inmates have been emplaced on the Employment Preparation Scheme (EmPS); (b) what proportion of the prison population do they represent; (c) what are the recidivism rates of EmPS participants versus non-participants; and (d) what are the most common reasons eligible inmates are not emplaced on EmPS.


Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. On average between 2023 and 2025, 159 inmates were emplaced on the Employment Preparation Scheme (EmPS) each year. This was about 4% of the penal inmate population during those years.

2. Inmates emplaced on EmPS are generally those who have poor family support and have more complex reintegration needs. Inmates may not be emplaced on EmPS if they have poor conduct in prison, respond poorly to the rehabilitation programmes offered by the Singapore Prison Service ( SPS ) , or are assessed to present a risk to public safety.

3. Table 1 shows the two-year recidivism rate of penal inmates emplaced on EmPS compared to all penal inmates.

Notes:
* Recidivism rate is defined as the percentage of local inmates who were released in any particular year, and who were subsequently convicted and imprisoned or detained again for a new offence.
^ This refers to the recidivism rates for inmates in SPS's custody who have been sentenced to imprisonment by the Courts. These includes penal inmates who may be emplaced on other Community-based Programmes such as the Home Detention Scheme or Halfway House Scheme, as well as penal inmates who are released directly from prisons.

[1] Penal inmate population refers to the number of sentenced inmates who were in SPS’s custody, both in prisons and in the community, on 31st December of the respective year.