The Four Principles that Anchor Singapore’s Criminal Justice System

This commentary follows Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law K Shanmugam’s speech at the Criminal Law Conference 2014, where he spoke on the past, present and future of Criminal Law in Singapore. His speech can be found at http://www.mlaw.gov.sg/news/speeches/speech-by-min-at-criminal-law-conference-2014.html

Singapore’s approach to the criminal justice system is underpinned by four fundamental principles: (i) the laws and criminal process must protect society from crime and uphold law and order; (ii) due process and the rule of law must be observed, and sentences must commensurate with the culpability of the offender and seriousness of the offence; (iii) our enforcement agencies must be empowered to discharge their duties effectively; and (iv) equally important, offenders must be given the opportunity to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.

Over the past few years, the Government has made a series of changes, which when taken together, represent a decisive change in the criminal justice framework.

First, much effort has been put into preventing people from getting into trouble in the first place. Our internal research shows that there is a very strong correlation between dropping out from school and the subsequent commission of crime. The Ministry of Home Affairs has thus implemented numerous early intervention programmes targeting youths at risk, guided by an Inter-Ministerial Committee chaired by Senior Minister of State Masagos Zulkifli.

Second, accused persons have been given more help. The Subordinate Courts established the Community Justice Centre to help unrepresented accused persons. For those facing a capital charge, the Supreme Court’s Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences provides free legal representation. From 2014, the Government will enhance the funding to the Law Society for the operation of its pro bono criminal legal aid efforts. This will establish four tiers of assistance which will range from basic legal advice to full representation in Court. And last but not least, the Third Law School at UniSim will, inter alia, focus on training lawyers who show an interest in practising criminal law.

Third, changes have been made to our Court processes. The formalised criminal discovery regime reduces surprises at trial. The Criminal Case Resolution scheme provides an avenue for the defence and prosecution to explore the early resolution of cases. AGC and the Law Society also jointly released a Code of Practice to encourage defence lawyers and public prosecutors to observe their duties and adopt best practices during criminal proceedings. As for sentencing options, the mandatory death penalty reforms and the introduction of community sentences have given our Courts greater sentencing discretion to ensure that the punishment fits the crime. 

Fourth, our penal philosophy is not simply grounded on notions of retribution and deterrence. Rehabilitation has to be and is an important part of our sentencing regime. This is something that the public and sometimes, even lawyers are not aware of. Our Prisons has introduced a wide range of rehabilitation programmes for inmates. The Yellow Ribbon Project, Community Befriending Project and Community Outreach Project are some examples that support ex-offenders and prevent reoffending. As a result, our prison population decreased from 18,000 in 2002 to 12,500 in 2011. Between the year 2000 and 2010, the two-year recidivism rate for inmates also dropped from 40 per cent to about 24 per cent. In comparison, the recidivism rate in Japan was 43 per cent in 2011, New Zealand was nearly 50 per cent and it is even higher in the US.

Our approach has helped to ensure that Singapore’s crime rates are much lower than those of major cities. In 2012, Singapore’s violent crime rate was 79 cases per 100,000 people. New York had 1,333 similar cases per 100,000 people in 2012, which is 13 times that of Singapore. London had 1,828 cases per 100,000 people, while Hong Kong experienced 178 cases per 100,000 people in 2012. Singapore’s crime rate in 2012 was at a 29-year low, dropping almost 60 per cent from 1992 figures.  

More changes are being planned. A Committee headed by Senior Minister of State for Law, Indranee Rajah, is looking into rationalising the whole ladder of homicide offences, including the definition of murder, deaths caused in violent group crime, and homicide in contexts such as rape and child abuse. The treatment and punishment of mentally disabled offenders is also being reviewed. In addition, a formalised plea bargaining framework is being studied.

Everything we have done, everything we will do, reflect and take off from the four principles articulated at the start of this article. Protect society; Due process; Effective law enforcement; and Rehabilitation and reformation. These four principles will ensure that Singapore continues to have a robust and fair criminal justice system that serves the needs of all. 

► Thian Yee Sze
     Director-General
     Ministry of Law