Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Whether the Duration of the Crime-Free Period Before a Criminal Record Becomes Spent, and the Offences Disqualified From Becoming Spent Will Be Reviewed

Question:

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether the Ministry will review the duration of the crime-free period before a criminal record will become spent and the offences disqualified from becoming spent, under the Registration of Criminals Act 1949.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law:

1.   The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) periodically reviews the spent regime for criminal records. In our last review in 2021, MHA assessed that the existing regime and criteria continue to be appropriate to facilitate the re-integration of ex-offenders, in particular those who committed minor crimes.

2.   We have other measures to facilitate their re-integration into society. For example, the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) provides a range of rehabilitation programmes for inmates during incarceration. These programmes may include psychology-based correctional programmes, family programmes, education programmes and religious programmes. SPS also works with Yellow Ribbon Singapore (YRSG) to provide industry-relevant skills training to enhance inmates’ employability, employment assistance to help inmates secure jobs prior to release, and career retention support to ex-offenders in their transition from prison to the national workforce.